FORT WORTH, Texas — A national program that focuses on dad’s being great says it’s mission is to try and do something about the more than 19 million children in America without father figures. Community leaders were invited to a Fort Worth elementary school for a kick-off of the program.
Jabier Carrion arrived at South Hills Elementary School to a huge surprise. He has a second-grade daughter at the school.
"I pulled up and man, there's just cars lined up like it’s, it was crazy,” Carrion said. "There's a lot of dads here."
Carrion is among the 150 dads who packed the auditorium to launch the new fatherhood program “All Pro Dad” in the city.
The program will focus on making fathers more visible to students, something Carrion knows about firsthand.
"My dad was a soldier, so he was away sometimes, but he always made sure to tell us that he loved us. He was proud of us, and he always provided for us, take care of us,” he said.
All Pro Dad organizers say since that's not always the case, they invited Fort Worth dads to sign-up and meet their co-founder and celebrity spokesperson Tony Dungy.
Dungy is a retired NFL coach, who won the Super Bowl for the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. Dungy shared why he's involved and the program’s mission.
"A lot of these young kids, they're going to see a lot of female teachers, a lot of female administrators. But to see the men involved and say, my dad, thinks this is important, my dad thinks school is important, that sends a message," said Dungy.
Dungy's message is a huge draw in recruiting fathers, like Andrae Taylor. As a participant, Taylor has expanded the All Dad Pro program across Texas. He got to shake hands with Dungy.
"I can tell he genuinely cares about the program,” Taylor said. "And I'm excited to even have my own chapter and be a part of something that he created, which is great."
Great, because some of the dads recruited, like Tim Russell, can personally relate to fatherless students. Russell signed up to also help make the program mission a success.
"As fathers, uncles, grandfathers, we're there for the children, and you have to just be able to grow with them," said Russell.
According to All Pro Dad, nearly 19.7 million children in the United States are living with no active father or father figure in their lives. The organization believes that directly correlates to poor academic and social outcomes. One of the main goals of All Pro Dad is to provide programs and initiatives that will counteract the negative effects of fatherlessness.
The organization says it relies on legislative funding administered by state agencies. With this funding, it hopes to increase family engagement and positively impact the academic success of Texas, while creating unique opportunities for fatherhood involvement at local schools.
Those living in Texas can further support the nonprofit by purchasing one of the new “Family First” specialty license plates. Sales from the Texas plate directly support two main programs.