Never let a chance to connect with a parent slip away.

By Jim Bradford, Chapter Co-Chair at Mission Trail Middle School for Father’s Club

Never let a chance to connect with a parent slip away. A small window of time to make a connection can prove to be the catalyst you need to help a student (their child), even though you’ve never even met them. Huh? Well, let me explain.

A couple of weeks ago, another father and I had an opportunity to talk to some parents at a Mission Trail Middle School 6^th Grade Enrollment Night. They were coming to learn about the enrollment process at the middle school level. Heads were spinning, minds were racing and many were coming to grips with the fact that their babies were going to be in – GULP – middle school next year. But we also knew this would be an important opportunity to start getting Father’s Club on their radars.

We didn’t have much time to engage with the parents that were coming to the meeting, so it was imperative we caught them quickly with something that would grab their attention. We gave them a Father’s Club handout with a brief description of what we’re about and included a QR code for more information.

We also shared the analogy that Father’s Club is a bit like Watch D.O.G.S. at the middle school level. While both Father’s Club and Watch D.O.G.S. are two completely separate organizations with different missions, it was a perfect way to start a conversation. Dads want to be a part of their children’s lives. Watch D.O.G.S. was a perfect way to engage within the school building and now, letting them know where’s a similar option at the middle school level DID get their attention.

We heard time and time again, “Oh, wow, yeah, I’ll check it out!”

Dads often want to stay involved with their kids and Father’s Club is a great option. It’s just a matter of taking advantage of an opportunity to let them know about it.

While they are different, both organizations are vitally important. Watch D.O.G.S. offers dads a chance to interact with their child’s class, help out at lunch and engage with students all over the building for a day.

Father’s Club is a variation on that theme, except it’s not about a one-and-done type of situation. An engaged Father’s Club allows dads to be intentionally part of the educational experience, whether it’s for 10 minutes or three hours.

For Father’s Club to survive, thrive and do a deep dive, we need to make sure we don’t miss these chances to connect. If we don’t connect with future Father’s Club dads, we’ll never have a chance to connect with a student that might need us most. It may not be the one we think needs help. It may not be the one we see every time we’re out there doing Fist Bumps for Food. But we know they’re out there and we’re here to connect with them. Somehow.