San Bernardino Fatherhood mission is: “To eliminate fatherlessness in San Bernardino by promoting a culture of father inclusion and responsible fatherhood in our communities. This mission will be accomplished in collaboration with local schools, community partners, faith-based organizations and public and private agencies.”
San Bernardino Fatherhood vision is: “A society where children thrive, families are stronger, and communities are safer as a result of responsible fathering.”
About Real Dads Read
San Bernardino Fatherhood has worked in the field of responsible fatherhood for the past three (3) years, recognizing that fathers are more engaged today than ever.
Real Dads Read (RDR) is aimed at elementary and middle school-aged children (K-8) and their fathers/male caregivers with the goals of:
- Encouraging children to develop a love for reading.
- Improving children’s literacy skills and educational outcomes.
- Strengthening bonds between fathers/male caregivers and their children.
Real Dads Read is a two-generation approach to engaging and improving outcomes for both men and their children for which they are responsible.
NOTE: Kenneth Braswell and Read Dads Read is a returning Author Sponsor for MCBD2020. Get the scoop HERE.
Helping Children and Strengthening Families by Equipping Dads
Research shows that fathers are involved in the lives of their children, especially their education, children learn more, perform better in school, and exhibit healthier behaviors. Even when fathers do not share a home with their children, their active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact. The program has four engagement levels.
- Implementation of book drives in barbershops throughout the city of San Bernardino.
- Creating small children libraries in barbershops.
- Creating school-based community groups to meet once a month in reading activities.
- Creating a social media platform to impact the current narrative of “Black and Brown” men/fathers and their children.
“San Bernardino Fatherhood believes that Real Dads Read will be a great project to assist with the images of narrative change for ‘Black and Brown’ Men/Fathers, their children and families,” shared Ryan Berryman, MSW, the Executive Director of San Bernardino Fatherhood. “The project is a perfect opportunity to help elevate a counter-narrative by providing a great two-generational approach to services for parents and children.”
San Bernardino Fatherhood is seeking to establish at least fifty (50) “children reading centers” or children libraries in barbershops in the cities of San Bernardino and Highland.
How You Can Help
The objective of San Bernardino Father’s initiative is to partner with barbershops to encourage children to read and (most importantly) fathers/male caregivers to read to and with their children while waiting in barbershops.
San Bernardino Fatherhood will do the “work” in locating, promoting, educating, setting up and monitoring the children reading centers in barbershops for their success. We are seeking a donation of books for each of our partnering barbershop locations. Our goal is to have fifty (50) barbershops well established with a “Children’s Library” by June 2020.
Ways to help this timely and much-needed project is via donations of children books that are engaging, relevant and promotes positive images of “Black and Brown” children and families in our communities. The children targeted should be from ages zero (0) to eleven (11) years. Research evidence stresses the importance of early childhood literacy and children reading at “grade level” by the third grade to increase outcomes for future success.
Go here to learn how and where you can donate books.
It is suggested that the donated books depict positive role models and promote positive character-building traits (e.g., responsibility, honesty, respectful, safe, kind, courage, grit, social justice, discipline, etc.). Again, it is suggested that the characters in the children’s books are reflective of the diversity of the “Black and Brown” members in our communities.
San Bernardino Fatherhood is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, charitable organization. Learn more about them via their website and Facebook.
