ROANOKE, Va. – A new nonprofit is growing in the Roanoke Valley. Its goal is to build relationships among fathers and their children, while also teaching important life skills along the way.
The Fatherhood Encouragement Project first began eight years ago in Illinois. Just within the last year, the organization has expanded to Virginia.
“The project itself is encouraging and being mentors for fathers. Everything from mentoring with homework or college or anything like that and teaching them the ins and outs of fatherhood and having a support system for them because a lot of the dads, you don’t know what you don’t know,” said the executive director of Virginia’s branch, Matthew Hogan.
Hogan is leading the new branch in Roanoke which is the first expansion beyond Illinois. Hogan’s childhood is what inspired him to get involved in the program.
“I know me growing up, my biggest fear was being a dad because I never had one,” said Hogan. “So it’s kind of something to lean on for dads that are kind of scared to ask the questions, but now we have the support system to do that.”
Some of the major events include “Christmas with Superheroes,” where the organization makes Christmas possible for local families. Each month, members get together for “fatherhood hangouts.”
“So we’ll do everything from hockey games, to bowling to roller skating, everything in between,” said Hogan. “The dads that come and can pay, they pay, the dads who come and can’t, we never let that be a reason, so we take care of that.”
“So we want to build those relationships organically with the children. It’s called a hangout, but it’s not just fun. We are going to give them something to take home. If we are teaching finance that day, or we’re teaching coping skills that day, we will have a group discussion before we eat or before we go to the event,.”
To get involved visit Fatherhood Encouragement Project’s website.