School put out a call for volunteers to stand in for absent fathers at ‘Breakfast with Dads’—hundreds of men showed up
Fathers are important figures to their children and one cannot stress the need to have a male role model in their lives. The absence of dads creates a void and hollow feeling yearns to find a sense of belonging. The Billy Earl Dade Middle School attempted to bring a change in this feeling for boys with absent fathers, even if just for a day or two, per ABC News. The school came up with the idea of “Breakfast with Dads” and asked adult males to volunteer to share the space with kids and be a father figure to them. What started as a need for 50 men, turned into a life-changing event that inspired and rekindled the light of humanity.
Kristina Dove, an organizer of the event, revealed that the same was initially arranged for students to bring their dads or father figures for breakfast. "It's a way to engage the students' family during the school day and it's especially important for middle school students," she explained. However, when they realized a majority of kids had absent fathers, they came up with a wholesome solution. She put up a post on Facebook, requesting volunteers to share their time with the young boys and be a father figure to them for the event. The Facebook page, titled “Breakfast with Dads,” shared the profound impact this little idea resulted in.
Jamil Tucker, one of the volunteers, got everyone a tie so he could share the traditional moment of teaching them how to tie the same. A video of the heartwarming moment was shared in a Facebook post. "I started crying behind my camera," Drenka recalled. "You’ll never forget as a young man the first time you tie a tie. So many of our young men, they never experience that rite of passage,” she remarked. What started as a breakfast quickly turned into a mesmerizing bond between the students and volunteers.
While the initial need was only 50 men, the post touched so many people that by the time the day arrived, 600 men showed up to be the father figures for the students. Seeing the illuminating and supportive response, the organizers expanded the event from just a breakfast to a series of activities, icebreakers and all the dad things they coould imagine. Stephanie Drenka, a photographer from the event, recalled how rich in experience it turned out to be. From simply wanting men to fill in breakfast positions, adults came in and healed several wounds with their fatherly instincts.
One of the stories was that of a young boy with his dream to become a police officer. He bonded with Jason Rodriguez, Assistant Police Chief for Dallas ISD Police. In a post, the duo are seen having the time of their lives learning and discovering together. Mentorship and several other activities were included to let each student experience the relieving feeling of having a dad. With a heart-melting collection of experiences, stories, life lessons and more, these representative dads filled in a void in an inexplicable way.
“There were so many volunteers that, at times, I saw young men huddled in the center of 4-5 mentors. The look of awe, even disbelief, in students’ eyes as they made their way through the crowd of ‘Dads’ was astonishing,” Drenka added, per The Dads. In another post, it was revealed that the event has impacted people on such a large spectrum that it is being taken forward in other communities too and people cannot wait to step up!