Walton Family Foundation Awards Fathers Incorporated With $60,000

Walton Family Foundation Awards Fathers Incorporated With $60,000
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These Funds will help create curricula related to Real Dads Read Club (RDR), Drive-to-Five (D2F early-ed focused) and a multi-media campaign!

ATLANTA: Fathers Incorporated, the leading national non-profit for the promotion of responsible fatherhood announced today that it has received a $60,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation to further develop two of their hallmark programs, Real Dads Read (RDR) and Drive-to-Five as well as a multi-media messaging campaign, The Blueprint: Reimagining the Narrative of the African American Dad, geared towards improving and/or eliminating negative stereotypes of low-income fathers of color.

"Research suggests that when fathers are involved in the lives of their children, especially their education, children learn more, perform better in school, and exhibit healthier behavior. Even when fathers do not share a home with their children, their active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact," Kenneth Braswell, CEO of Fathers Incorporated explains. "Through this partnership,

The RDR Clubs will target early learning centers and elementary grade students in piloted schools in metro-Atlanta that are struggling with reading on grade level. Real Dads Read is a two-generation model that promotes engagement and improvement in outcomes for both men and the children for which they are responsible. The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) recently released research showing that two-generation programs like RDR can improve student achievement, increase parent engagement, improve adult reading behaviors and literacy, and prepare parents to help their children with school.

The Blueprint: Reimagining the Narrative of the African American Dad is a multi-media messaging campaign geared towards improving and/or eliminating negative stereotypes of low-income fathers of color.  Braswell shares, "Many young fathers have a strong desire to play active, positive roles in the lives of their children, and most young fathers understand what it means to be a good father." He continues, "They see being able to provide material support as a critical benefit to their child, and almost all recognize the importance of contact time, physical affection, and day-to-day involvement and this campaign will emphasize this reality."