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The Easter Seals BBCF Head Start is bringing awareness to the importance of fatherhood through its fatherhood initiative, called A.M.E.N., A Man Everyone Needs.

Today, the fatherhood initiative presented several fathers within the Black Belt community an opportunity to come within the Easter Seals Head Start school and help push the importance of early literacy to students between the ages of 3 and 5.

“We’re having a special focus on our male engagement fatherhood initiative combined with literacy, because we know that literacy is an issue for a lot of programs throughout the US and so what we are doing today is a way to enhance our fatherhood engagement,” said Head Start director Dr. Taquila Monroe.

Monroe said several dads of the Black Belt community were invited to attend the event, from firefighters to coaches with the idea of them going to each classroom and reading to the kids so that they can have the opportunity to see males involved in their educational experience.

Selma High School Head Coach Leon Day said he came to the event because he is a father as well and wanted to show his support locally to those behind it.

“The reason why I’m here is to show support to Ms. Benjamin and Ms. Tripp, they have been awesome to our football team and they have been truly a blessing to us and so I just wanted to see if there’s any way I can help,” Day said.

Day also said he thinks the number one rule to leadership is setting the example for the kids by what they see you do and not what they hear you say. Day said he’s hopeful his contribution reading to the kids will be an example for them of giving back and also an addition of his time spent can hopefully be a blessing to somebody else too.

Even Selma’s own NFL veteran Michael Johnson was a part of the community event as well.

“It’s just an opportunity to pour into the kids,” Johnson said. “I have a lot of free time and so anything, you can do to be beneficial to the youth, that will improve them. In turn, improve the community in the future. I was just saying in the classroom, they are our future and we want a better future to start pouring into them, giving them access and opportunity, however it may come.”

Johnson said this a small gesture to be able to be a part of something that he enjoys doing and he feels that the father initiative is doing an awesome thing with the fathers of the local community.

“There’s no manual, there’s just empty slates,” Johnson said.” The kids are going to be what gets put into them. So, try to set a good example and speak life into them, and doing things like reading to them and stuff helps with their development.”

Monroe said the fatherhood initiative, also has monthly activities for the fathers’ as well.

“Like we’ve had something around health and wellness, we’ve had this literacy focus on fatherhood engagement,” Monroe said. “Also, later this month, we are having the paint and sip for the fathers, so they will be at a designated location and they get to pick out whatever they want to paint.”

Monroe said the other future events that will be held act as a bridge for the fathers to get together, bond, and hopefully develop a support group.

Monroe said the BBCF head start is the only grantee in Alabama and of all the 1600 grantees worldwide, we are less than two percent that have been designated by the Office of Head Start to be a program of excellence.

For more information, please contact your family advocate or email, djones@strategicsystems.org.