Posted by We believe that it’s important to give back to our community. And our community focused story this month is all about Father’s Club.
If you haven’t heard of Father’s Club, it’s a dad-led, grass roots effort promoting intentionally around dads’ relationships and time spent with their families, with each other and within the community. The hope is that such intention will help empower parents to be a catalyst for change in the areas of mental health, teen suicide, substance abuse, technology addiction, self-worth, anxiety and stronger families.
One of the important criteria that renters with kids consider when selecting a new home to lease is the school district that they will be moving into. There are many great school districts in the KC Metro. Father’s Club is making an impact on what defines a high school as “great”.
Showing Up
Father’s Club is all about dads showing up at their children’s high schools on a regular basis to be seen and be available. Each dad that volunteers to be part of the organziation goes through training on how to recognize and deal with mental health issues that teens struggle with. Often, there just isn’t enough counseling support in schools. Father’s Club is trying to help.
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people age 15 to 24 in the U.S. Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Addressing these statistics and trying to reduce them is important.
How Many High Schools Have Father’s Club Chapters?
Click here for an updated list of schools that have Father’s Club chapters. Currently, there are 22 Kansas City area high schools with chapters.
We think those numbers are amazing when you consider Father’s Club started only a few years ago with a handful of dads on a back porch. The conversation was all about how they could help their kids struggling with mental health issues. They worried about their own kids considering suicide or being crushed when one of their friends/classmates died from suicide.
Look At All The Good…
If you look through the blog posts on the Father’s Club website, you will see that amazing things are happening as a result of their efforts. Fist Bumps 4 Food and High 5 and Handouts are all about giving out free food at various high school events. The club shows up to work the concession stand at sporting events. (They tailgate for games as well.) They might support the band with a big event. They might host a big bonfire to bring kids together. Father’s club works hard to show up all year long.
Want To Get Involved?
If your high school already has an active chapter, all you have to do to get involved is fill out the join form on the Father’s Club website. If your child’s high school is not listed in the current chapter list, you can contact Father’s Club to talk about getting one started.
And if you want to know when important Father’s Club events are happening, you can subscribe to their event calendar.
We are so grateful for the consistent, ongoing efforts of Father’s Club. There is no question that they’ve saved the lives of teens in Kansas City. Thank you Father’s Club!
Home Rental Services Blog 