Be a father to the fatherless!

Had an insightful conversation with a good friend who helps out with our tutoring program. He had recently gotten a new contract job to create online math programs for At Risk Youth. As we chatted his excellent point was that the real needs with these kids and teens is to have real life interaction with adults. His broader assessment was that the lack of dads in the lives of these youth was a clear reason for their struggles in understanding life and being capable of reading and doing math. 

What made this conversation so insightful was the fact that my good friend had spent an hour playing chess with one of our kids who struggles in life, doesn’t have a dad and is the kid that is always bullied in school. He does have an incredible mom who is trying so hard to be all to him. The amazing picture was seeing this little guy play chess for an hour with utmost determination. My friend also echoed this fact as we considered what has to happen for our little friend to make it in life. 

As I reflected on our tutoring with around 30 kids and teens it touched me that there were three older gentlemen who chose to take an evening to hang out with our kids and teens. I had one friend, who is a PHD in Physics, sit with a group of young kids being creative on an iPad. He was excited to have one of our gals, Bunny, show him the mechanics of using Procreate. 

Another, friend, Dan was having a blast lining up a large number of little blocks that ultimately would become a long chain reaction with a group of kids. I know that one of the younger little brothers was being annoying because of his tendency to prematurely knock over the blocks. I was energized by the team work of this group as they sought to line everything up for the grand finale. 

I loved watching a young gal who is a recent college grad sit with a group of teens and interact in such an incredible fashion. It was if Morgan was the bigger sister with all of these gals. The bigger picture, even as I met with a friend who is a new mom, college student and seeking support was that the impact of investing an hour of your time is priceless. 

What made me who I’m today is having an incredible mom and dad, who walked with me through the normal ups and downs in life. Can’t fathom life without them, yet, a majority of the kids, teens and single moms I’m around are less fortunate. 

Please consider being like a mom and dad to kids and teens in difficult life circumstances.