A few weeks ago, I was at Gracie Mansion for an unusual, progressive, and inspirational event.  The NYC Mayor’s Fatherhood Initiative were hosting their annual celebration of fatherhood: the “NYC Dads Matter Awards.”  This year hit me right in the feels as I sat in the crowd with my family to cheer on a friend and fellow NYC Dads Group member, Jason Greene. Jason, an active at-home dad living in Queens, has overcome some extreme challenges in his life, and was being recognized along with nine other well deserving honorees for becoming positive and consistent influences in the lives of their children. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was on hand along with Alan Farrell, Fatherhood Services Coordinator to distribute the Mayor’s Fatherhood Initiative awards.

Most amusing moment of the evening: Lance’s son charging over to the Mayor to inquire how tall he is.  See photo below. Answer: six feet, six inches.

The Mayor’s Fatherhood Initiative, NYC Dads, was established in June 2010 to strengthen New York City’s families by helping dads take a more active role in their children’s lives.  The goals of this exciting program include making all City agencies as “father friendly” as possible and championing the message that dads matter.

We realize that fatherhood is front and center in the month of June with the climax surrounding Father’s Day. Consequently, we congratulate and applaud the Mayor’s Fatherhood Initiative that work diligently to make New York City a more ‘dad’ friendly place to work and live each and everyday.

Jason, Cara, and Wyatt Greene posing with Mayor Bill de Blasio

Lance Somerfeld’s son admiring Mayor Bill de Blasio’s height: 6 feet 6 inches!

Lance speaking with Alan Farrell, NYC Fatherhood Services Coordinator at NYC Dads Matter Awards

#1) Earlier in the week, we mentioned that Mayor Bloomberg announced a new citywide fatherhood initiative to strengthen New York families. Well, it looks like he is not the only one charging ahead with new programs for fathers. Looks like President Obama is getting in on the action as well- Krissah Thompson at The Washington Post reports: Obama steps up fatherhood advocacy with new mentoring initiative. A driver of the program is based on census figures from last reporting that a significant percentage of children in the U.S. did not live with their biological fathers. Thanks for plugging us into this Matt!

The new initiative, which is enlisting a network of organizations, will expand on a six-city listening tour the administration held last year to bring attention to the issue of fatherlessness. “The tour was a national conversation on responsible fatherhood that was rooted in the president’s personal experiences growing up and his realization that father absence is a real challenge facing many communities,” said Joshua DuBois, director of the partnerships office…

Obama’s special interest in fatherhood has been a boon for groups that support fathers and have been working for years without much attention. “His leadership and using the bully pulpit has been important,” said Roland Warren, president of the National Fatherhood Initiative, which was founded in 1994 and recently contracted with the federal government to produce public service announcements promoting fatherhood.

Not sure how large an impact this new program will have, but it marks another step in the right direction for the country in promoting the importance of fatherhood.

#2) Earlier this week, we also discussed how awesome it was for the Pampers Brand to name NFL Superstar Drew Brees as a spokesman. As a follow up, the New York Times published an article this week on Getting Dad to Do Diaper (Buying) Duty by Andrew Adam Newman.

The article is a truly great read for all dads. With quotes like, “the role of dads is expanding and we salute that and we want to make dads a bigger part of the brand,” said Bryan McCleary, a Pampers spokesman. “Dads are playing an increasingly large role in parenting and diapering.” Pampers, glad you finally had the epiphany! How about some other parenting brands becoming (slightly) more dad-centric?

The article features some words of wisdom by Greg Allen of Daddy Types stating that “In June, everybody talks to dads…but, the rest of the year it is just moms.” However, the highlight for me was the amount of real estate the article devoted to describing the four years of target practice Brian Reid has been taking on the Pampers Brand. If you are not familiar with RebelDad’s annual gripe, get acquainted with his Pampers boycott now. Hats off to Brian!

New York City will soon be offering lots more resources on the Daddy Front! First order of business is to hire a “dad czar.”

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced last week a sweeping new initiative “to help fathers become more active, involved, and productive members of their families. The new initiative includes more than a dozen programs aimed at educating and supporting fathers and fathers-to-be, Mr. Bloomberg said.” Programs will include “parenting classes at public hospitals and homeless shelters, a part-time education program at the City University of New York, and the addition of family visiting centers in city prisons.” Additionally, Bloomberg announced, New York City will soon hire it’s first citywide fatherhood services coordinator! That’s right – a dad czar!

While 32 percent of all New York City children under the age of 17 live in households without a father, 54 percent of black and 43 percent of Latino children grow up in fatherless households.
The launch comes after the Mayor directed city agencies to review their policies and practices to make sure fathers were not unintentionally excluded from, or missing opportunities to engage in their children’s lives.

Read the entire press release here: MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES CITYWIDE FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE TO STRENGTHEN NEW YORK CITY FAMILIES. As a dad who is always seeking more useful resources, I am truly interested to see how this new major initiative unfolds for all fathers in New York City. Either way, this is one giant leap forward for fatherhood! Perhaps, other major cities across the country will hop on this dad-wagon as well. One of the organizations that we recently partnered with for an upcoming meet up event, WE GIVE BOOKS, will play a role in this new initiative with raising awareness for more dads to read with their kids. I am hopeful that the NYC Dads Group will get involved and participate in multiple ways with this new citywide fatherhood initiative as it starts to take shape. Stay tuned!