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“NEW! A “Dad-Involvement” ‘System’ that
Spotlights Your BEST Dads and Makes
Them ‘Famous Mentors’ For the Rest to Copy—With Almost
ZERO Effort on Your Part!”
Exciting New, But Already Proven
‘System’ That
Gets
Dads
DEEPLY Involved
Here’s the thing – you’ve got some great men connected to
the children in your program.
They “give their all” for their kids every day.
Some even work 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet.
They volunteer, and you know their names. But… you’ve also
got some “Daddy Duds” who need to “open their
eyes” and see how vitally important they are to their
kids’ lives.
I’m going to tell you how to get
MANY more men involved.
But first – I need to share this “sobering” truth: No matter what you tell them,
SOME of your dads are never gonna “GET IT.” Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe never…
“…THE UNPLEASANT,
UNCOMFORTABLE "SECRET" RESISTED BY SO MANY HEAD START PROFESSIONALS and
other EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS (especially those who are “new” to the
game) IS THAT EVEN WHEN YOU "ASK MEN TO GET INVOLVED,” YOU WON’T
GET A BOATLOAD OF THEM LINING UP AND DIVING IN TO VOLUNTEER…”
…And that’s a shame, because 1 out of 6
kids has no
significant man at home. Trouble
is, 85% of early childhood educators are women –
GOOD women and good teachers.
But that means about 1 in 10 kids aren’t getting
ANY significant male involvement – at home or at
school!!
 None
of this would matter except for THIS fact…
“…Father Involvement Matters as Much as
Life and Death…”
Fatherhood research over
the past 25 years is crystal clear that children without involved
fathers are more likely to grow up
poor, get into trouble with the law, abuse
drugs and alcohol, become a teen parent, drop out of school, and
commit suicide (the suicide rate for kids without
involved dads is 10 times higher than other children).
You have
HIGH EXPECTATIONS for your fathers.
But let’s be honest – getting men “involved” can be like PULLING
TEETH. Aren’t you frustrated
with your father involvement “results?”
I mean, you knock yourself out trying to get men in the door –
and to stay long enough to do something meaningful.
In truth, you’ve had some success.
(But nothing to write home about.)
You offered the men food (probably pizza), and that worked...
sort of. But you’d like to
see more (on-going) male involvement.
Correct?
You’d like MANY MORE DADS involved, like that one ‘Super Dad’ who
volunteered all the time. He was so good you put him on ‘Policy
Council’. Remember him?
And then there was that GRANDPA who came in just about daily… he was
like a GIANT MAGNET and the children were like little metal shavings
 drawn
to him…. clinging to his legs when walked into the classroom!! …He
was great!! (But he’s gone.) He left when his granddaughter left the
program.
Let me ask you this – Wouldn’t it be
great to see that kind
of enthusiasm in a Grandpa or Dad again?
You took this job to make a difference.
And you have made “SOME” difference.
But you were hoping for a bigger “splash” with father
involvement, right? Here’s one of the things you’ve
learned:
“…‘Reading’ Men Is Difficult...”
Let’s face it – men are
STRANGE creatures. And it can be tough getting them
to do “exactly” what you want.
Just ask any wife. Or
girlfriend. Or mother.
Or Male Involvement person, principal, or program
director!
You’ve “brainstormed”
ideas to get dads more involved.
Some ideas worked (for a little while)… and others fell flatter
than “poorly flipped pancakes” that landed on the kitchen floor and had
to be scraped up and thrown away.
Then the dog ate what was left over.
Goodbye great idea.
We live and learn. “Woof, woof!”
Then there was your “Dad’s Group.”
Let’s be honest: It fizzled. You tried to get those guys interested,
and you cranked father involvement up BIG TIME (four about four months)
… but the group vaporized….. disappeared……
Made you wonder if men can stick to anything at all. Yes, men are busy, but you KNOW
they could (and should!) get more involved, for the sake of their child. And you’re justified feeling a bit
“angry” about the situation.
Let me ask you this question…..
Don’t you sometimes feel you
could just “slap” some sense into those men? Or reach out with L-O-N-G arms and
“wring their un-involved necks?”
Or
HUG them??
Or SOMETHING?!!
(By the way, please don’t slap the dads or wring their
necks… they really DO want to be involved….they just don’t know
“exactly” HOW. (And besides, somebody very small
loves them VERY MUCH!)
“...But I Know
How to ‘Read’ Your Dads...!”
 How
can I say I can “READ” your dads?
Do I have a big crystal ball?
Do I consider myself a “seer”?
Hardly! I know how to “READ” your
dads because I “WRITE” them all the time! Let me explain: I have
long conversations with dads by phone, when I interview them
each month.
…They talk to me –
they tell me amazing things.
Then I WRITE ABOUT what they tell me, creating
“feature articles” based on our conversations. Other men READ these articles about
YOUR men. (Your “community
partners” eat these articles up, too.)
I’ve personally talked with THOUSANDS
of fathers connected to early childhood programs, and I've interviewed
HUNDREDS of them. I want to interview
YOUR dads.
HERE’S MY OFFER:
I will interview
your dads.
I will write about them in magazine-quality
professionally edited articles, and I will send the articles
to you (and you make copies and give them out to your families
and community partners) – ALONG WITH
The Down To Earth Dad monthly newsletter, now
in its eight year of publication.
-
I will “quote”
your dads the way a journalist does (I, and my team, are seasoned
journalists. I will make your dads “famous”
within your program or school community for one thing: Being Dads!! Doesn’t that sound
EASY on your end? It
is!! I do all the work FOR you!
-
You give me the
“Go-Ahead,” and MY TEAM INTERVIEWS, FEATURES, and SPOTLIGHTS
YOUR MEN!! Here’s how it works for the MANY
programs (and schools) already using this:
-
In a Nutshell
à
I am
inviting you to implement my TRIED,
TESTED, and PROVEN National Dads Matter!™
Project for your SCHOOL or PROGRAM and
DRAMATICALLY increase your male involvement.
I’ve done it
successfully for others, and I’ll do it for you, too.
I
focus with GREAT ZEAL on ONE thing:
‘FATHER
INVOLVEMENT
in
kids’ lives!’
My PROFESSIONAL
experience gives me “Keen Insight” into the minds of the men in your
program. And I can tell you this:
“... I Will
Get Your Men
DEEPLY Involved…”
And … I do
95% of the work FOR You!!!
 It’s
called the National Dads Matter!™ Project and it’s been
“proven” to work in several other programs and schools, so it's not
like you’re trying something that’s “untested.” This really works!!!!! Here’s how it works: I Interview Your Dads and Make
them FAMOUS within YOUR program and community – famous
for ONE THING, that is:
Being Involved Dads!
Finally! A totally “turn-key” ready-to-roll
interactive
resource that GETS DADS DIRECTLY INVOLVED in your
statewide, regional, or local-level program, school,
tribe, or community, even though past “male-involvement” efforts may
have left you high and dry….
"I am overjoyed with what I
am receiving. My families here, with
that first article, they were just blown away.
 They
were just totally floored.
I am happy. Ecstatic! It has done wonders. Since the newsletter came out, I did
have an increase in my male involvement. I have to attribute this to the Dads
Matter! Project. I'm getting more and
more hits at our Head Start website too.
You have made my year because it has been such a struggle to get
this (male involvement) program off the ground... I am very happy with the
Dads Matter Project. It shows
that Dads really matter."
— Ranzer Turner, Family and Community
Partnerships Manager, Lake Community Action Agency Head Start, FL
“…Puts Father
Involvement on ‘Auto Pilot’ So You Can Go
Home
On Time…!”
Here’s the deal – You have PLENTY
to do without worrying about operating a “full – blown” father involvement
effort. But the Dads Matter!™
Project puts father involvement on “AUTO PILOT” and you won’t EVER have to
work late, or stress out because of this project.
The project makes father involvement a breeze!!!
This project is designed for LOCAL PROGRAMS like
yours (and for larger programs and schools, too), and it’s SO EASY TO
IMPLEMENT that you can pretty much ‘Turn It On,’ let it roll – and do its
work – even while you’re at home!
Here’s the scoop – I, and my
team of professionals, do ALL the work for you. You do next to nothing. Kick start this project, then sit back
and watch it roll! Somebody
sends me (by email) a short list of dad’s names/phone numbers/and digital
photos of the dads in time for publication, and I interview your men.
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"Causes Your Dads to Feel
EMPOWERED -- To Be
Involved!”
“
I love
the results that we are seeing with this project. This may be the only place
our featured Dads get positive press and acknowledgement
of the important job they have.
As one featured father put it,
‘Dang,
I’m not just a father...
I'm a father with important things to say,
and other fathers should listen.’ What a great
boost to his ego this experience gave him!
”
— Linda Bleything, Director,
Douglass Community Services
Head Start, Hannibal, Missouri
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The Dads Matter!™ Project is BY FAR THE Best Way to motivate
the men in your program to get involved.
You’re letting them “SEE” OTHER DADS role-modeling
what “involved Dads” look like.
That’s powerful. I’m
ready to roll up my sleeves and “go to work” for you...
I, and my team of interviewers and writers
INTERVIEWS YOUR DADS connected to YOUR program
or school EVERY MONTH. A
two-page article is created, and made available to you so that you can make
as many copies of it as you need for your FAMILIES and community partners
each month.
Let
Me Ask You THIS…...
ARE YOU READY For
DADS TO GET
MUCH MORE
INVOLVED????
I’ve GOT something FOR you!!!
à
YOU GET
ALL
OF THE FOLLOWING...
1.
YOU
GET:
A Customized,
LOCALIZED
Publication Featuring
YOUR
Dads …
I’m talking about a “HIGHLY CUSTOMIZED” piece
here…. customized to YOUR program or school and featuring
YOUR DADS. I, and my team of
professional interviewers and writers, interviews your men
by telephone—the dads, grandpas, and uncles connected to YOUR program or
school, and FEATURES THEM each month in a customized article—complete
with a photograph of the man and his children, grandchildren, nieces,
or nephews, if you send us a picture. Having 12 pictures of 12 of your
dads-and-children (and 12 professionally-done “Feature Articles” about the
dads!) that’d create an awesome “visual” of how you’re “raising the bar” for
father involvement, wouldn’t it?
These are first-run, primary
source,
professional quality articles, and the result is making your
men famous within your program and community. Here’s the
deal... your featured dads become visible role models to the other
men in your program. Your dads become famous in their “circle”—their
neighborhood. Won’t your dads feel good when they become so visibly
“famous?”
We’re talking about supremely well-done,
professional newspaper-and-magazine-quality feature articles here, and
they all feature YOUR men EVERY MONTH. This specialty newsletter
becomes a “hard copy” when you print it out on the computer printer each
month and make as many copies as you like,
and give them to all your families and community partners
each month.
Here’s the deal – I, and my team of Father Involvement
team of professional interviewers, journalists, editors, and writers do
EVERYTHING for you (except come up with the names and phone numbers,
and photos of the dads. By the way….
“Done-For-You” means
DONE for You!
Neither
you, nor any member of your staff does ANY of the interviewing
or writing. My team does EVERYTHING. Here’s the bottom
line: Beyond emailing the names, phone numbers, and photos of your
dads once a month, You Don’t Have To Do A Thing!!! Here’s what
else you get….
2.
YOU ALSO GET:
The Down To Earth Dad
Monthly Newsletter…
This is a VERY COOL publication which has been circulated to select
programs, schools, and families nationally (and internationally) for the
past eight year (see sample below)…..
EVERY MONTH, you’ll
ALSO
receive, on your personalized web page, a clickable, viewable
version of
THE
DOWN TO EARTH DAD NEWSLETTER, and any and all of your visitors to
the website can view this newsletter each and every month of your
subscription period.
The Down To Earth Dad newsletter
is the ORIGINAL “Dads” newsletter—for fat hers,
mothers, educators, practitioners, and child-and-family advocates and other
professionals. I, Patrick Mitchell, am known nationally (and
internationally) as “The Down To Earth Dad.” I publish and circulate
the newsletter widely to preschool and child and family serving programs.
The Down To Earth Dad newsletter
takes the “big picture” view of father involvement, with articles based on
interviews I personally conduct with child development experts,
psychiatrists, psychologists, medical doctors, authors, deans of colleges
and universities, and researchers on the “BIG PICTURE” of father
involvement.
+++++++TESTIMONIAL++++++
"I
just wanted to let you know that I read the September issue of “The Down to
Earth Dad”. This is a very good newsletter, critical for fathers.
It’s a very easy read and I think helpful. Thanks for sharing!!"
—
Tanya R. Howell, Program Specialist, Office of Family Assistance,
Administration for Children and Families,
United
States Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
The
Down To Earth Dad
Newsletter Contains…
·
A Feature Article such as The Power of Play,
Early Literacy Enhancement,
Dads Reading to Children, Storytelling, Role Modeling, and
other topics. It’s FILLED with valuable information.
·
A Recipe (easy to follow) so dads can cook more often
for their kids, and a “personal column” written by Patrick Mitchell, “The
Down To Earth Dad.
·
A Father-And-Family Activities section for dads,
and your staff -- ideas to get father involvement happening at home and
at school.
The Down To Earth Dad
monthly newsletter is the “shell” publication into which your
customized, localized Dads Matter!™ insert/supplemental publication
(that features YOUR dads) is placed monthly, and you then distribute
this newsletter-and-insert combo to your families and local community
partners.
The four-page Down To
Earth Dad publication is geared to the general topic of
father involvement while the Dads Matter!™ insert is focused on the local
picture—featuring YOUR dads—and how male involvement takes shape in
relation to your local program efforts. The two
publications together (THE CUSTOM one I make for you, and
The Down To Earth Dad newsletter) are
a powerful combination of father-involvement information.
3.
YOU
ALSO GET …
A
Custom
Web Page to ‘SHOW OFF’ YOUR Dads!
Specialized, customized web
pages are created and maintained just for your program to showcase
your dad articles online.
Here’s what happens: My team creates a
Customized Web Page
showcasing your dads (and grandfathers) connected to your LOCAL
program or school.
This is important:
You don’t have to do anything
except GO TO THE WEBSITE and click the “thumbnail” image of the article
online at your very own National Dads Matter!™ Project web page...
and VOILA! – You’re seeing a Feature Article about “that dad who
drops his son off in the morning and then leaves,” or “that grandpa who
comes in for lunch, or “That guy who never says anything to anyone.”
Won’t it be nice to “read up” on your dads once these articles are in print?
The customized articles, and the customized
web page – created JUST FOR
YOUR PROGRAM is created and
maintained on the “Down To Earth Dad” website, and it’s accessible with a
special “Username” and “Password.”
You can steer anybody to the web page, and you can
LINK to the website from any other website you like (such as your
main program or school website.)
I’m going to show you
EXACTLY HOW to get MANY of your “In-active” dads
fully engaged in your program, and how
to hold your BEST ‘Dads and Grandfathers’ up as Mentors for the rest
to copy…
I
want to make your dads FAMOUS within YOUR PROGRAM or SCHOOL—among the
other families, and in your community. I want to make YOUR local dads
FAMOUS for ONE thing: Being Dads.
Being Invovled Dads specifically. Isn’t it about time dads became
famous for that important job – being a dad? The fact is, other
dads in your program (and moms) need to see who the GREAT men are who
volunteer their time and help out. And, you know of men who don’t help
out much (or at all) at yoru program or school who are still great dads, and
THEY need to have a voice too. This project is their voice! And won’t
it be nice to blast that “voice” out for your fathers, mothers, and
community partners to “hear?”
Here’s a sampling of "Dad
Quotes" from
dads I’ve interviewed:
“The challenge is to help them to learn all the good things. I guide
them all I can and give them the right directions.”
— Ben One
Feather, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Head Start
“All kids need a Dad around. Children learn no matter what. They’re
quick at learning. Be there, and they’ll learn from you.”
— Sam Martin,
Pueblo of Isleta Head Start, New Mexico
“Show them you love them and pay
attention to them. “We had a part in bringing them into this
world, so it's up to us to take care of them.” —
Anthony Anderson, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Head Start
...And here’s what programs
are saying…
"Since we began
the Dads Matter!
Project,
not only has our father participation, but also all
male
involvement participation increased
15%.
Since implementing the Dads Matter Project we have begun having
fathers volunteer their time.... The roster for
participants is almost to full capacity! So once again, thank you
Patrick for including Isleta Head Start & Child Care families in the
Dads Matter Project! We hope to continue the Dads Matter
Project for years to come."
—
Jacqueline Yalch, Social Service & Behavioral Health Case Manager,
Pueblo of Isleta Head Start, NM
"As a result of the (Dads Matter) program, we have seen an increase in
father involvement in our programs as well as throughout the agency.
For example, fathers are feeling more "at home" getting involved in
their child's direct care at our agency, but also volunteering to
complete projects and participate in additional events such as
fundraising and our building renovation. This project encourages
interpersonal support and gets people together.”
—
Tami Walters, Executive Director, Mighty Oaks Children’s Therapy Center,
OR
“Through your Dads Matter! Project, and contributions to the
Children’s Voice Magazine, you
have remained a true champion for all America’s
children and families.
The Child Welfare League of
America appreciates your effort and support in addressing the needs of
children, youth and families.”
— Cassaundra
Rainey, Director, Mid-Atlantic Region, The Child Welfare League
of America, Washington, DC
“I talked with Joshua Colon this morning and he was very excited about
the (Dads Matter!™ Project) interview and article. He asked me
what I thought. I told him I was almost in tears of joy when I
read it. He said he had shared it w/ his family.”
— Donald Johnson,
Father Involvement Specialist
DCS Head Start,
Roxbury, Massachusetts
“It's (Dads Matter! Project) very cost-effective.
It’s good service, and you're using a very efficient way of bringing
people in and empowering them to be part of the whole process. This
project highlights the needs of fathers and helps create a
support system for them.”
— Cynthia
Thompson, Executive Director
Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon
Here’s what a
Dad said...
“To
have someone like you call me and ask me these questions, that’s a good
feeling. I’m not trying to be a great dad, but for someone
to call you up and ask you about being a dad because they think
you’re doing a good job, that’s a priceless feeling.”
—
Matthew Collins, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
TRIED AND TESTED
The Dads Matter!™ Project is a tested and
refined turn-key resource highlighting the important role fathers play
in their children’s lives. The Project is EASY to implement and
operate; it’s ready-to-go and directly involves your dads and families
right from the start. This is a tried and tested
fatherhood strategy that really works!
I’ve Spent the Past Seven Years
‘Perfecting the Craft’ of interviewing Dads of PRESCHOOL CHILDREN.
So you’ll get top-notch customized, localized articles about YOUR dads
that you can be PROUD of. The truth is, your dads are BURSTING
with information about their challenges and triumphs as fathers… but
nobody is asking them to come forth with the
information!!! Nine times out of ten – no, 999
times out of a thousand – nobody asks the right questions,
including, “What’s it like being the father of a preschool child?”
You only need four (4)
things to get started, and HERE they are…
1.
Families—Moms and
dads (married or single) who have children in your program. The Dads
Matter!™ Project can serve a minimum of 100 families. There is
no
 maximum
number of families that can be served. Many programs serve
several hundred families.
2.
Dads to Interview Each Month—You
must have fathers, grandfathers, uncles, or other "significant males"
willing to be interviewed—by telephone—and featured in the
customized, localized “Dads Matter!” publication each month.
These men are EASY to find, as everyone
loves the idea of having their "Fifteen Minutes of Fame," so to speak.
The truth is, fathers, grandfathers, and uncles love being
interviewed! For many fathers, having the spotlight on them and
their personal experiences relative to raising a preschool child is a
wonderful experience. The interviews are conducted by telephone,
and they may call a Toll Free number to be interviewed by
The Down To Earth Dad editorial
team. Our team of professional
journalists and editors interviews these men for you every month!
3.
Community
Partners—Your friends, such
as local schools, agencies, physicians, hospitals, child-and-family advocacy
programs, counselors, and others will enjoy receiving copies of the articles
about your dads. It lets them know what you’re doing, and they can
help recruit dads and families to your program.
4.
Project Coordinator—A
volunteer dad, mom, or paid staff person is needed to communicate with
The Down To Earth Dad editorial team monthly, to coordinate
interviews and help with distribution. The Project Coordinator
does NOT have to interview anyone or do any writing.
Can you think of
someone on your team who can send us a monthly email and photo?
That’s really all that we need in order to get started. The
Project Coordinator might assist in distributing/circulating the Dads
Matter! supplemental publication and The Down To Earth Dad monthly
newsletter, depending on whether you involved “hard copies” in your
chosen implementation version of the overall Dads Matter Project for
your program or school.
“Top 10 Reasons”
to get the
Dads
Matter!™ Project for Your
Program
In
addition to the benefits of quick start up, ease of implementation and
maintenance, and utility as a sounding board to tell your community what
you're doing,
 here
are additional reasons to get the project for your program or school:
1.
The Project Is Meaningful and Important
By implementing the
Dads Matter!™ Project, you are affirming that your program or school
involves fathers. This will be much appreciated by the fathers
connected to the children in your program, and they will show their
gratitude by participating. Providing opportunities for your children
to have their fathers more involved in their early lives is a great gift
indeed; it is a gift from the heart.
The Dads Matter!
Project is a tool you can use to reach out to families with a
tangible, tested resource to help children get “significant male
involvement” in their early education and lives.
By implementing this
simple project, you are establishing your program as uniquely dedicated to
enhancing children's preschool experience.
Children love their
mothers and their fathers, and thoughtful parents realize that in today's
world, creating special occasions for dads to be more involved-at school and
at home-is supremely important to their child's cognitive, social, and
emotional well being.
Fathers long to provide
all the good things they can to their children. They sense they are
valued, important contributors, and the Dads Matter! Project celebrates that
reality. Sometimes, work and other obligations keep dads from making
the kinds of contributions they want to make. You can help men get
more involved at school, and at home, via this project—for the sake of the
children you care for, and for the sake of your program or school’s growth
and prosperity.
2. Harnesses the Energy of Father Involvement
Father Involvement
is a hot topic in America right now, as the benefits of that involvement
become more widely known in the wake of two decades of intensive research.
You can HARNESS the power of father involvement by embracing and
implementing this ready-to-go “Done-For-You” project. You can
start to harness, or continue to harness, the energy of father involvement,
and focus it on YOUR program with the expectation of positive results
for your program, and for the children you serve.
A famous study by the
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 1999), revealed that
children do better in school and enjoy
school more when their fathers are highly involved in their child's school.
The National Dads Matter! Project leverages the reality that kids do
better when Dads are involved, and gets their Dads involved early.
3. The "I Know That Guy!" Factor
The best way to spread
good news and get people more involved is to show them someone they know who
is involved. The Dads Matter!™ Project does this well. By
featuring your Dads (and Grandpas) via this project, and by creatively
making the elements of the project available to families outside of your
current population of enrolled families (a.k.a. a few copies to your
community partners), men connected to your program and community will
invariably recognize each other-by name, by face, or both-and your program
will benefit by this positive association of their relationship with, or
recognition of, this other man.
4. "Raises the Bar" for Parent
Participation
A growing body of
research shows that when early childhood education programs, including Head
Start, state their expectations for father involvement right from the
start, during intake/enrollment, dads participate more during the school
year. By utilizing the Dads Matter!™ Project -- a plug-and-play
father involvement resource that demonstrably involves fathers in their
child's school-you are effectively "raising the bar" for father
participation and you're implicitly setting a high standard for father
involvement at your school. This, in turn, means you'll have fathers
who feel involved. You will have no shortage of dads to help anytime
you need them to get something done. This project gets dads
involved, plain and simple.
5. Promotes Your Events
A short Calendar of
Events on "page 2" of your Dads Matter! publication can be included each
month (as an option), and you can use this space to promote what's going on
at your school or program. Invariably, friends of your current parents
will find out about your special events because of the calendar of events
section, and some of these parents will attend your special events.
The media might show up, too. (HINT: Be sure and send a copy of the
Dads Matter!™ publication to your community partners and the news
media. This way, everyone will know what you're doing.)
6. Promotes
Your
Program
Successful programs need
a constant influx of new families coming through the door and calling on the
phone in order to maintain a healthy program. This project effectively
"sells" your program or school as a valuable place for children to be.
Not all families qualify, but doing something exciting like implementing
this project, keeps the excitement in the air, locally, for being in your
program or school.
“Dads On The Wall”…
You can
showcase the articles featuring your dads (the monthly Dads Matter!™
publication) on a wall at one of your sites, perhaps in the entry
area of your building. Over the course of the school year you can
amass and display numerous Dad-oriented feature articles appearing in the
Dads Matter!™ publication.
These can be normal-sized 8 ½ x 11" pages, or blown-up 11" x 17" pages for
easier readability from afar.
7. Generates a Re-Usable Resource
You'll end up with 12
personalized, customized articles all featuring the parents of your
preschool students, and all referring to your school. These "living
articles" can be displayed, almost indefinitely, at your school for years to
come-as flyers or posters on the wall, showing everyone your program or
school is truly father-friendly. To put it another way, the articles
generated by the Dads Matter!™ Project become a re-usable resource
that you can use in many ways now, and in the future.
8.
It's
Easy
To
Implement
The Dads Matter!™ Project
is an easy-to-implement resource helping men become more directly involved
in their children’s lives. The Project also helps program staff and
families reach out to fathers and families with the message that father
involvement matters.
Children benefit from
implementation of the Dads Matter! Project because the project makes father
involvement an ongoing commitment and thereby commits good men to
interacting more meaningfully in their children’s lives. This is a
turn-key, ready-to-go project, and my team takes care of the main
details, managing everything behind-the-scenes—including all the web
components. All you do is provide the names of the fathers to
interview each month and communicate with us, and the program
practically runs itself. Say the word, "Go," and The Down To Earth Dad, LLC
team of professional father involvement writers and editors will interview
the first dad, and we're up and running!
You are guided
every step of the way! (In fact, there's not much for you to do at all!)
9. Have something
wonderful to show the “Federal Reviewers”
If
there is someone, or some entity, that you might like to “impress” from time
to time, with the fact of your dedication to father involvement/ "male
involvement", the Dads Matter! Project fits the bill nicely!
"I
just wanted to let you know that I read the September issue of “The Down to
Earth Dad”. This is a very good newsletter, critical for fathers.
It’s a very easy read and I think helpful. Thanks for sharing!!"
—
Tanya R.
Howell, Program Specialist,Office of Family Assistance, Administration for
Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human
Services, Washington, DC
10. This Is an Exciting Project!
Spotlights Your Dads...
The National Dads Matter!™ Project highlights the Dads themselves -- YOUR
Dads -- putting them in the spotlight and showcasing their thoughts,
challenges, and triumphs. The Project can also make dads and moms
aware of relevant programs, services, and resources that you offer, or which
you’d like your families to know about.. The Dads Matter!™ Project
supports your current male involvement efforts and
improves and sustains father involvement in your program.
“Piloted,
Tested, and
PROVEN
Successful”
The National Dads Matter!™ Project has been piloted, thoroughly tested, and
refined for five years at various pre-schools, public schools, and
child-and-family advocacy programs, states, and outreach programs throughout
the country. The Project has been an overwhelming success among Dads
and Moms connected to schools and programs ready to celebrate the challenges
and triumphs of fatherhood (and grandfather-hood) through the eyes and words
of dads.
How The Project Works…
The Dads Matter!™ Project is easy to implement and operate -- it's virtually
ready-to-go and directly involves your dads (and grandpas, if you like!)
right from the start. The Dads Matter!™ Project leverages an existing
resource known as
The Down To Earth Dad
monthly newsletter, currently in its sixth year of publication. (See a
sample issue of
The Down To Earth Dad
below).
The Down To Earth Dad newsletter
is made available to your families, staff, and community partners along with
a customized, localized monthly publication customized specifically to
YOUR program or schoo, called Dads Matter!™ (See a sample
issue the Dads Matter!™
publication below).
.
The Dads Matter!™ publication created just for you
is highly customized and specifically tailored to YOUR specific
population of fathers and families. Professional journalists and editors
from The Down To Earth Dad, LLC, based in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, interview
your dads by telephone and create original
feature articles spotlighting your fathers each month. These articles
are then featured in your localized Dads Matter!™
publication in tandem with The Down
To Earth Dad newsletter.
The two publications together -- The Down To
Earth Dad and Dads Matter!™ -- provide a powerful
one-two punch of vital information in the "Big Picture" of father
involvement (facts, research, articles based on interviews with experts),
and father involvement in the "Local Picture" (articles featuring interviews
with YOUR dads connected to YOUR program.)
The Project Philosophy
Dads Need Access To Other Dads...
Moms matter supremely. Children need their mothers like fish need
water. Without moms we'd be sunk! But children need Dads, too, and
Dads need access to good information in order to be the best parents they
can be. Vital information, programs, services, and resources are often
underutilized because fathers often are not informed of the existence of the
programs and services, and/or they do not always feel welcome to
participate.
In a study of 3500 Early Head Start teaching staff and fathers, 96% of
teachers felt they had invited fathers to become involved in a specific
event happening at their center, but only 43% of the fathers believed they
had been invited. Fathers need extra encouragement and highly specific
information in order to engage fully in their child's preschool experience.
The Dads Matter!™ Project helps fathers become more directly engaged.
Fathers of preschool children in particular need access to resources,
including other fathers from whom they can gather vital information,
and with whom they can share common experiences. A father who is well
informed and has a network of support available to him is able to positively
impact the future of his family. Your fathers will benefit from having
a unique forum of their own; specifically, the forum the
Dads Matter!™ Project provides. By the way, moms like reading
about what the Dads have to say!
Brings Fathers Together
Fathers are often needlessly isolated from one another and do not typically
share activities, their stories, joys, frustrations, and triumphs in
parenting their child. And yet, they have much in common and much to
offer each other. Men who are parents are too often the silent keepers
of a wealth of unique knowledge and support that can be shared via this
project.
Men who are parents share a common experience; namely, striving to be the
best Dads they can be for their children. Fathers share unique
experiences that can, and should be shared whenever possible. Public
interest in fostering fathers' involvement is increasing because of the
recognized benefits of fathers' contributions to their families.
However, some fathers feel they are simply unwelcome and inadequate as
parents (Batten & Stowell, 1996; Knitzer & Bernard, 1997). Part of the
solution lies within our programs and schools, specifically, and with social
programs generally, but this is only part of the answer. Parents need
to step up to the plate and help create their own innovative support
programs to better facilitate their own involvement in their children's
early education experience. Dads, specifically, need to step forward
and participate. The Dads Matter!™ Project is a sturdy platform
Dads can step up onto in order to see what's going on and more fully
participate.
The
Dads Matter!™ Project for families and community partners
helps fathers become more directly involved in building their own network of
support and encouragement in a manner that allows for closer communication
between fathers and families, and furthermore, among fathers, families, and
your community partners.
Satisfies
the Need for “Resource Awareness” at your School or Program
Parents of young children aren't always aware of the resources available to
them in their community. That's where the monthly
Calendar of Events (specific to father-friendly events) fits into the
Dads Matter!™ insert that we
customize for you each month. In addition to featuring/highlighting
your Dads every month, a key purpose of The Dads Matter!™ Project is
to provide information and resources-including the valuable human resource
manifest in the real-life experiences of other fathers, and to
elevate the important role that fathers play when they're actively engaged
in their children's lives.
Celebrates
Fatherhood...
The
Dads Matter!™ Project celebrates fatherhood and encourages fathers to
get involved and stay involved in their children's lives. This is
accomplished by showcasing individual Dads' stories about parenting their
child in monthly feature articles based on exclusive interviews with fathers
conducted by
The Down To Earth Dad editorial team,
and the subsequent publishing of feature stories based on those interviews
in your own local version of the Dads Matter!™
publication.
The Project is a tool that
helps Dads get actively involved in their children's early education
experience and in obtaining information about programs, services, and
resources in their state and community.
FAQs—“Frequently
Asked Questions”
Q
– “This looks like a lot
of work. How much effort will I personally need to put into this?”
A
– It IS a lot of work –
but MY TEAM does most of the work! My team of expert interviewers,
writers, editors, programmers, web designers, and support staff do ALL the
hard stuff in the background, so…
…. you really ONLY do
THREE SIMPLE THINGS:
1)
Send me (by email), the name and phone number of a dad or
grandpa to be interviewed. Many programs spend a little time
initially putting together a “short list” of men for my team to
interview – say, six dads – and then they do nothing more for six
months.
2)
Give out any “hard copies” of the customized, localized “Dads Matter!"
publication, featuring your dads. You can do this by “mailing”
them out to families and community partners, or simply by making stacks
of them available every month at one or more locations.
Easy!
3)
Point people to your customized web page (the one we BUILD for you) to
show off your dads. You get the web page no matter what; however,
you don’t have to steer anyone to the page if you don’t want to.
But you CAN, and it’s really cool.
Q
– What if it just doesn’t
work for us. Can we get our money back?
A
– Yes, you can. See
my guarantee, below. But I'm not worried – because I know you will LOVE this
project!
IMPORTANT: ONLY
A LIMITED NUMBER of Programs Can Participate
Customization and personal service
are hallmarks of this project, so I’ve drawn the line at
20 Participating Schools-and-Programs
for the 2007-2008 school year. (And Nine (9) are ALREADY
SIGNED UP!) So… if you like what you see here, “waiting” is
probably not a good idea.
As
attractive as the National Dads Matter!™ Project is, I know that only
about 10% of programs receiving this information about the Project will
respond. Although that’s okay with me from a general project-promotion
standpoint, it still bothers me. That’s because I know how much
preschools, and other child-and-family-serving programs—at the national,
state, and local program/school levels—benefit from this project.
I receive positive emails from program directors and parent involvement
specialists frequently, and I talk to them on the phone. I see them
personally when I visit their programs, and I feel the pride of the dads
when I interview them. Many program directors tell me what Ranzer
Turner at Lake Community Action Head Start in Florida told me:
“I am overjoyed with what I am receiving. My families here,
with that first article, they were just blown away. They were
just totally floored. I am happy. Ecstatic!
It has done wonders. Since the newsletter came out, I did have an
increase in my male involvement.”
Because
of this, I just hate the thought of a preschool program, school, or other
child-and-family-serving program NOT getting the National Dads Matter!™
Project for their local program because of some error or omission in my
explanation. That’s why I asked several programs for input to try and
figure out why you might say “no” to my offer. After crunching the data, I
came up with only three possible reasons:
Here are
some common “initial” worries that some people have:
“WORRY”
# 1…
“I don’t know if our dads will ‘Get Into’
this project.”
Not
all your dads will get into this project. However,
MANY
of
them will. The Dads Matter!™ Project has worked wonders for
some programs, getting men DEEPLY involved.
Some
of your men will be “interviewed.” Others will “read about” (and see
pictures of) the dads who get interviewed. The point is that both
groups of dads—the ones interviewed (the “mentors”) and the ones who read
the articles (the “mentored”)—will benefit.
Also,
remember, there’s a 100% Money-Back
Guarantee for all un-used months.
If it turns out that you have “regrets” that will only be eliminated by getting
your “money back,” then so be it. You’ve got nothing to lose.
Here’s what one father said:
"When I first started
getting the newsletter I had some serious reservations about it.
But after I started reading the articles I just found the stories
about men in my situation to be really beneficial.
Other guys in my situation, they go through the same things as me.
It's encouraging to read the
articles and it's just great."
-- Matthew Robbins, Father,
Post Falls, ID
“WORRY”
# 2…
“This looks GREAT, but I’m not sure we
can afford it.”
Since
you determine how many months to get, you decide how much to pay.
Consider “starting” with three months, then “finding” more funds later on, to
keep things rolling. (It’s a better deal, by far, to get 12 months up front, but
you can hop, skip, and jump your way through the project – by
funding it one-step-at-a-time.)
NOTE: There are a few different ways to operate the National
Dads Matter! Project, and cost depends on the number of families and/or
community partners your organization, program, or school is chartered to
serve. It is likely that you WILL be able to afford this project
at some level of implementation.
The
other thing is – this is a valuable project, and a good investment in
your families. Here’s what a state program director said about the “value”
of the Dads Matter! Project:
“It's (Dads
Matter! ™ Project) very cost-effective. It’s good
service, and you're using a very efficient way of bringing people in and
empowering them to be part of the whole process. This project highlights the
needs of fathers and helps create a support system for them.”
—Cynthia
Thompson, Executive Director, Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon
* * * * * ** * * * * * * ** * * * * * * ** * *
* * * *
Here’s another “value” comment…
"I would like to thank you for
providing our program with the opportunity to be part of this father-friendly
program. Since we began the Dads Matter! Project, not only has our
father participation, but also all male involvement participation
increased 15%. Since implementing the
Dads Matter Project we have begun having fathers volunteer their
time…. The roster for participants is almost to full capacity! So
once again, thank you Patrick for including Isleta Head Start & Child Care
families in the
Dads Matter Project! We hope to continue the Dads Matter Project
for years to come."
—Jacqueline
Yalch, Social Service & Behavioral Health Case Manager, Pueblo of Isleta Head
Start, NM
* * * * * ** * * * * * * ** * * * * * * ** * *
* * * *
Plus,
you can always get a REFUND for unused months. Just let me know by
the 15th of the month prior to the months you want to cancel, and
I’ll send you a refund for your unused months. So – you’ve got a
guarantee for success!
“WORRY”
# 3…
“This project will ‘leave out’ our moms—we’re
supposed to include both parents.”
By
involving fathers in children’s lives, you take some of the ‘load’ off
the moms. Also, moms like reading “about the dads.”
Moms like seeing what makes men “tick.” I remember one mom who cried when
I talked to her, saying she had no idea how much dads matter, and that she now
wants to get her child’s father (whom she doesn’t like) more involved for
her child’s sake.
Besides
– if your moms “just can’t stomach the project” (doubtful!!), and you need to
cancel, there's always my guarantee for refund.
“…This
Investment In Your
Dads Fits Your Budget Because YOU Pick How Much to Pay…”
You'll
get the entire "National Dads Matter!™ Project" customized for your program
or school.
PLUS THIS
BONUS
for the FIRST 7 Programs or Schools to enroll by May
15, 2008…
100
FREE “hard copies” of
The Down To Earth Dad
newsletter each month (this
is a $2400.00 annual value
all by itself! That’s quite a bonus, indeed!)
It will be a pleasure working with you!
Respectfully,
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