A Dallas area middle school recently held a “Breakfast With Dads” event, but officials grew worried when the predominantly low-income and minority student body appeared to not have enough father figures to participate.
So officials at Billy Earl Dade Middle School sent out a call for help to the community through social media. They expected about 50 or so men to respond.
Instead, 600 men showed up to support the kids.
600 Fathers Show Up For “Breakfast With Dads” At Dallas School https://t.co/wWV7FWnbj9 pic.twitter.com/xdHg58cLIG
— The Source Magazine (@TheSource) January 7, 2018
Pastor Donald Parish Jr. put the plea out on Facebook, and at first didn’t have high hopes.
“We know that the majority of our students were not going to have dads present,” Parish said. “Many students don’t have any males figures around, or at least the kind who would show up for a school event like this.”
“We thought we would get 50 people,” he admitted.
Before he could blink, Parish was inundated with over 800 phone calls, voicemails, and text messages.
USA Today reported, “On the morning of the breakfast, 600 men from all walks of life lined up outside the school to be the male mentors that the school was hoping for.”
MENTOR MOMENT: The boys at Billy Earl Dade Middle School in South Dallas – many without fathers of their own – were blown away when hundreds of male mentors responded to an online call for a “Breakfast with Dads” event. @DavidMuir reports. #AmericaStrong pic.twitter.com/kBVb6omhq3
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) January 10, 2018
One of the volunteer mentors, Assistant Dallas ISD Police Chief Jason Rodriguez, tweeted about the importance of being a mentor.
Words cannot describe the impact mentoring youth can have on both you and your mentee. Powerful to see a community of fellow men and fathers come together to wrap their arms around or young men. Thank you for having me out. pic.twitter.com/2fTicFpzws
— Jason Rodriguez (@DISDPD_AChiefJR) December 14, 2017
Fox News host Juan Williams reported that the men ‘pledged to be mentors to the students’ going forward, not simply for this one special night.
Williams called it “so needed, so necessary and so wonderful.”
Even more so on this holiday to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK once famously said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?'”
These men answered that question – Acting like a father figure.
We need more of this in the world. Great job, men!
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