Fastbreak for Fathers - Community

Accepting Nominations

Thu, 06 May 2010 13:48:00-0700

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: [More]

Doing windows

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:52:00-0700

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. [More]

Fatherhood & Healthy Families Recommendations

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:56:00-0700

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): [More]

Are we promoting a generation of ?Entertainer Dads??

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:46:00-0700

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 [More]

Fighting poverty with fatherfullness

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:26:00-0700

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. [More]

100,000 Thank Yous

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:15:00-0700

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. [More]

Remembering the future

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:49:00-0700

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. [More]

8,660

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:57:00-0700

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. [More]

Updated website for parents

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:42:00-0700

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. [More]

Thoughts from a Special Needs Dadvocate

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:51:00-0700

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

Back to school for both you and your kids!

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:46:00-0700

Just over half of the respondents to our web survey on how father-inclusive their child’s school is perceive it to be “mostly” or “Fully” inclusive. I wish it were more, but the good news is that fathers’ involvement in their children’s education is on the rise according to a recent (and more sophisticated) study by The National Center for Fathering and the National Parent Teacher Association. Over the past 10 years fathers across the country have been taking their child to school, attending class events, visiting their child’s classroom and volunteering at school more often than ever before. By being actively involved, dads can positively affect their child’s school performance as well as instill in them the tools to not only graduate, but also go on to college and, or a successful career. [More]

The moon and stars and fatherhood

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:41:00-0700

I write this post on the evening of a full moon. I have always anticipated and enjoyed full moons as they rise in the evening, stand guard through the night and set in the growing light of the dawn. I anticipate this evening a little differently since reading a research article by Suzanne M. Flannery Quinn. Her article is actually on the presence and depictions of fathers in best-selling picture books in the U.S. and is published in the Spring 2009 edition of Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers. As more of an aside than anything else she notes the presence of the moon in a number of children’s books focusing on father-child relationships. This may simply be because many of the stories take place in the evening or nighttime when traditional dads are more available to their children, but Quinn wonders if it is also possible that the moon is a second-order sign related to fathers. [More]

Daddy dolls & fatherhood services

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:28:00-0700

Twenty plus years ago I finished graduate school in May, my daughter was born in June and my first job out of grad school came in September . . . of the following year. I became an at-home dad right from the start. And from that moment my heart and direction was set. I knew then I was always going to be about helping men be the kind of dads their children need them to be.

Erma Bombeck captured my commitment in her classic Father’s Day column penned in 1992:

One morning my father didn’t get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day.
I hadn’t thought that much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night. [More]

Take 'em outside!

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:58:00-0700

You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that studies indicate that children are spending half as much time outside as they did 20 years ago. Child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—to some of our most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. Louv, author of one of the classic books on fathering, Fatherlove: What We Need, What We Seek, What We Must Create (1993), has stimulated an international conversation about the future relationship between children and nature, and has helped spawn a movement that is now moving into the international sphere.

His book, Last Child in the Woods was the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. The newest edition of the book includes: 100 actions you can take to create change in your community, school, and family and 35 discussion points to inspire people of all ages to talk about the importance of nature in their lives.

Ann Zander, CSU Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent in Boulder County, has highlighted some of Louv’s points in her August 2009 Family Matters newsletter article; Benefits of children playing in nature.

I’m proud to say we take the importance of the outdoors seriously here in Colorado! On June 15, Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien released the Colorado Kids’ Outdoor Bill of Rights; ten activities Colorado kids told her they believe everyone in the state should have an opportunity to experience before they grow up. [More]

Thank you for a great Fatherhood Rally!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:43:00-0700

Thank you to everyone who helped and participated in the 2009 Colorado Fatherhood Rally! Despite a sky full of threatening clouds nothing rained on this parade! Those present were treated to a great performance and introduction to the power of fatherhood wisdom passed from generation to generation by the Denver Indian Family Resource Center Dancers.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper accompanied by his son, Teddy, reminded us of the importance of parental involvement in the life of children no matter what their age.

Dwayne Meeks and Demetrious Jenkins of Urban Colors Arts & Mentoring were awarded the Be There for Your Kids Fatherhood Program of the Year Award. Joel Webster, father to Michael – 13 and Haley 9 received the Be There for Your Kids Father of the Year Award. Joel spent his formative years in and out of foster care, ended up dropping out of high school and spending more time than he would like to recall homeless. Joel was able to break a generational cycle of pain to becoming a hero in the eyes of his wife, children and kids across his neighborhood. He sees himself as “just an ordinary dad.” We recognize him because others have seen the extraordinary in his life! [More]