Fatherhood Celebration 2015

Fatherhood Celebration

Last week Thursday, June 18th was MBRC’s Fatherhood Celebration event at the Hayti Community Center in Hayti, MO. MBRC recognizes the importance role of father/male involvement in the lives of their children & family; therefore, this event was put together to celebrate and to show appreciation for fatherhood in the Bootheel region.

One of the many highlights from the event was our icebreaker game—the tie contest. All fathers were each given a tie, and the winner of the tie contest was determined by the person who can tie his tie at the fastest speed. It was absolutely heartwarming to observe how fathers helping & teaching each other through this fun activity.

MBRC’s educational component during the event is intended for fathers to learn the skills to be better dads or to address the barriers that have prevented them from being involved in their children’s lives.

Lynne Ketchens, MSW, was our special guest speaker who did a fabulous job at her presentation on current research on African American fathers & the benefits of co-parenting. A staggering fact that was mentioned by Lynn’s presentation was that Nation Center on Health Statistic found that “black fathers were the most involved with their children daily, of any other group of fathers, fathers who didn’t live with their children, as well as those who did.” Her presentation objectives were:

  • Participants will become aware of the CDC research on Fatherhood;
  • Participants will be able to list and discuss two benefits of co-parenting;
  • Participants will broaden understanding of parenting role;

Needless to say, her remarkable presentation & speech with a touch of humor were well received by the audience which largely consisted of families from the Bootheel region. (The video that was played for Lynne’s presentation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S19ho5N4Crs)

One of our MBRC staff had the opportunity to interview fathers at the event where many fathers shared their experience as fathers along with the challenges they face raising their children. One of the fathers shared that his most favorite moments with his kids was to watch them grow up from being a little baby to walking & talking.

The most common challenge that was mentioned by the fathers was being there full time for their children & meeting the family responsibilities. Moreover, many fathers underscored the importance of the male role model in their lives.

Every father who made it to our Fatherhood Celebration event left with a gift bag filled with gifts such as picture frame, mug, etc. Every father deserves to be recognized for their important role in their children & family’s lives.

We are incredibly thankful for the families who attended our best Fatherhood Celebration event yet and fathers who participated in our interview, which is now available on our Facebook page.

*To view our video interviews from fathers sharing their experience and challenges, please visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mbrcorg?ref=hl

*For Fatherhood Celebration event pictures, please visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mbrcorg?ref=hl

If you haven’t connected with us on Facebook, please do so by simply typing in “Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium” in your search box and find the one with MBRC’s logo!

 

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