Blue Valley CAPS Fist Bumps for Food: Making sure nobody misses out!

By Kevin Saylan, Chapter Chair at Blue Valley West for Father’s Club

In November, all the Blue Valley Father’s Clubs partnered to toss chicken and biscuits sandwiches and fist bumps to students as they entered the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) building. This is the second year in a row all Blue Valley Father’s Clubs have participated in this event. When each club hosts their own Fist Bumps for Food, CAPS students miss out. So we thought we would spread the love by coming to them!

The CAPS Program provides an environment where students get to explore their future.

The program helps students engage with local business partners as they work on projects in different industries.  CAPS has programs in the following areas:

• Bioscience
• Business Technology Media
• Engineering
• Foods and Entrepreneurship
• Medicine and Healthcare
• Teacher Education and Law

Seeing the students smile when they see us (maybe for the free food, but we like to think it is for our support as well), brings a lot of joy to fathers who volunteer.

Last year, I received the following text message from a student at Blue Valley West, “Thank you so much for the chicken and biscuits! I woke up late and had a bad morning and you guys turned it upside down and made my day! Love that you guys came to CAPS.” As much as we made this student’s day, she made mine as well. As we always say, “We do it for the students (and staff)!”

We had a dozen dads show up to pass out 200 chicken and biscuit sandwiches.

We try to make it fun by throwing the sandwiches across the parking lot and seeing if the student can catch it. I’d say they did pretty good this time.

Chad Ralston, Director, Center for Advanced Professional Studies, wrote the following email: “A huge thank you to all the Blue Valley Father’s Clubs for stopping by CAPS and surprising our students with Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwiches. Your positive presence set a great tone for the day and helped deepen the bond between CAPS and the BVW community we proudly represent. The boost of kindness and connection you bring leaves both students and staff feeling energized as they start the day!”

As dads, we know that life’s challenges can sometimes be difficult… for you and your kids. Whether you or someone you care about is facing some mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is there to help. You are not alone!

Next Steps

• To get involved with a Father’s Club chapter at your school, visit the Chapters page on our website.
• If there isn’t a chapter currently at your school and you would like to know more about starting a Father’s Club chapter, visit the Contact page and fill out the form with your details and we will be in touch!