Blue Valley High School Fist Bumps 4 Food

By Christopher Caton, Blue Valley High Sschool Steering Committee

On September 15th, the Blue Valley High School (BVHS) dads showed up for Fist Bumps 4 Food (FB4F)… this is absolutely one of my favorite events of the year.

We handed out 800 chicken and biscuit sandwiches from Chick-fil-A to all the students coming into school that morning. As always, we run out of food each and every time.

We have dad’s at every door, and although the biscuits are optional, the fist bumps are mandatory. Or at least they were at my door… Haha!

This is my second year being engaged with the BVHS Father’s Club FB4F events.

Over time I have learned that I like to position myself at the front door where the freshman get dropped off by their parents. It’s so much fun watching freshmen, who are generally not in the best of moods, get out of the car with their parents and immediately start smiling when they see us handing out chicken sandwiches.

It’s literally a transformation of emotions from the car as they walk towards us, and they have huge smiles on their faces as they say thank you and go to school with completely changed attitudes.

For some odd reason this morning, I experienced a 2×4 to the forehead moment.

I was overcome with emotion and was reminded of why we do simple things like showing up. As I stood at my post in front of the school I saw a student get out of their car, and immediately started smiling as we handed her a chicken biscuit sandwich, while again demanding a fist bump. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I see the student’s mother rolling down the window to speak to the group of dads. She proceeded to tell us that the student had just lost her dad and really needed us this morning. She expressed her gratitude and amazement. It was a simple gesture to let us know that we had no idea how much this meant to mother and student.

Everything happened so fast that I didn’t get a chance to get the students name, but I can tell you that every dad in front of BVHS had tears in their eyes for the next 10 minutes handing out fist bumps and food.

Again, FB4F is pure joy for both Dads and Kids, but this day was a strong reminder of why the Father’s Club is so important. For most, it’s just a breakfast sandwich. But for some, it is so much more. The Father’s Club made a difference today… good work dads. Keep showing up!

Right Here. Right Now You Matter.