We are accepting nominations for the 2010 Be There for Your Kids Awards. This year’s winners will be honored during the pre-game ceremony of the June 18th Rockies game. Nominations are due May 15.

Last year’s winners included:
Jerome Perkins (pictured on the far right) – Fatherhood Practitioner of the Year - Jerome is the administrator of Christlife Ministries in Pueblo. Christlife Ministries focuses mentoring fathers in prison to connect with their children on the inside while also preparing them for a lasting relationship with their family when they are released.

Joel Webster (Pictured on the right with Governor Bill Ritter) – Father of the Year – Joel and his wife Bridget are parents to 13-year-old Michael and 9-year-old Haley. Joel rose from the ashes so to speak . . . after spending part of his childhood in foster care and being homeless for a short period of time, Joel demonstrated a tremendous commitment to getting his life in order and eventually married and became the kind of dad his step son and biological daughter need him to be. Joel broke a negative cycle and has replaced it with powerful presence of courage, nurturance, and hope.

You probably know someone deserving of a Be There Award. Nominees must be a resident of Colorado and fall into one of the following eight categories:

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Norman Maclean learned the discipline, grace and rhythm of life fly-fishing with his Scottish Presbyterian father. I learned it doing windows for Mesdames (I understand that’s the plural form of Mrs.) Tracy, Smith and Lake with my Easter and Christmas only Methodist dad of Scandinavian and British descent.

If spring was in the air, so was the commingled aroma of dusty old screens and WindexTM. Mesdames Tracy, Smith and Lake were all widows who attended the Methodist Church in our small Michigan town of 1200 or so. Although he wasn’t much for the Sunday sermon and offering he was one for works of service and I, as his first born and only son, got to come along.

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The President’s Advisory council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships met March 9th to present the recommendations of six taskforces representing:

• Economic Recovery and Domestic Poverty;
• Environment and Climate Change;
• Fatherhood and Healthy Families;
• Global Poverty and Development;
• Inter-religious Cooperation; and
• Reform of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Follow this link for a PDF of the full report.

In regards to Fatherhood and Healthy Families the Council was charged to “develop recommendations for partnership and program opportunities that will strengthen the Administration’s commitment to promote fatherhood and the role of fathers in supporting healthy families.” The single overarching conviction that shaped the Taskforce’s deliberations was that: Responsible, engaged fathers are critical to the financial, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being of children, and therefore to the strength and health of American families and communities.

The Taskforce presented the following 9 recommendations (begins on page 26 of the full report):

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Dads on Dads, a study published in 2002 on the changing patterns of family life in modern Britain by the Equal Opportunities Commission identified four types of dads based on men’s time involvement with their children, the activities they engaged in with them, and the role they adopted in these interactions.

What type of dad are you? or What type of parents are you? 

• Enforcer Dad
• Entertainer Dad
• Useful Dad
• Fully Involved Dad

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The recent discussion on poverty, marital status and out of wedlock births (see Vincent Carroll’s February 20th Denver Post column – Discuss poverty at own peril) speaks to the flesh and bone of my work to improve the wellbeing of children as it relates to the absence or presence of a father or father figure. I am a part of a growing number of individuals and agencies in Colorado that are calling men to step up and be the kind of dad their children need them to be.

The politics of father absence, like any social issue of significance, is fraught with a plethora of differing assumptions and opinions.

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In 2009 Coloradodads.com had over 100,000 unique visitors and almost 2 million hits. Thank you to everyone who has logged onto our site this year! The website is just a small yet important portion of what we do.

In October 2006, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), Colorado Works Division was awarded a $10 million federal grant over five years to strengthen father/child relationships and improve parenting. Since that time we have helped fund 56 programs as they provide thousands of dads with the tools and resources they need to be the kind of men their children need them to be. This year we are funding 27 programs across the state.

It has been especially satisfying to see the development of programs that do not receive funds from us. More and more counties, agencies, and churches have begun to provide services this year that improve the well-being of our children by working with and through their dads. In addition there has been marked improvement of service coordination across divisions and departments of the state and counties.

In the past year we have trained over a 100 different Colorado practitioners in fatherhood practices and curricula.

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Thanksgiving is a time of looking back with gratitude. It is a time when collectively we gather in communities of the heart to remind one another that regardless of the circumstances of the past, the present holds something, somewhere to be thankful for.

Memories aren’t only tied to the past however.

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The Colorado Men Against Domestic Violence Pledge Initiative is growing by leaps and bounds! The last thirty days has resulted in over 400 additional pledges. Most of the new pledges are hand written pledge cards from City and County of Denver employees. Several others and myself have been entering these by hand on our online pledge page. With each name and pledge I enter I am tossed between excitement and despair.

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Search Institute recently updated their website for parents MVParents.com. For 50 years Search Institute has provided research and resources to promote positive change on behalf of youth. They are best known for the 40 Developmental Assets. The Developmental Assets are 40 common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults. The Developmental Assets represent the relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need to avoid risks and to thrive.

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Our Watercooler Blog is place for individuals from the community to post their thoughts on fatherhood or fatherhood services. I recently had coffee with Scott Forlenza about what it is like to father a child with special needs. Whether you have a special needs child or not I am confident you will find his post meaningful.

We are currently in the planning stages for some pages on this site for dads of special needs children. Send me an e-mail or post a comment below if you have some ideas along those lines.
Rich