The Power of Networking

Male Coordinator from Detroit Michigan

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a national Head Start Conference in Kansas City Missouri.
Although it is a conference with many different workshop topics related to early childhood growth and development etc. for me these conferences become a time when (male involvement personnel) discuss "war stories in our field" , what we always realize is that the stories and challenges are not isolated to a certain city or town, or many areas of the country.
It is important that we network. Networking, conversing with another person (which so happens to be predominantly men) is a refresher, because most times we only understand each others passion and commitment......if male specialist, male coordinators, ect don't get out of their area once and a while and network, agencies will not sustain a male involvement program, male participation or male visibility. 

In April of 2012 I plan to travel to a Head Start National Conference - this time in Tennessee. I'll spot out another group of young eager fathers who will be excited to have traveled, where recognized as a dad to represent his child’s school but most of all be RECOGNIZED in this light and not the dark deadbeat dad shadow that he may have felt he was in before he was welcomed in a place (a safe place) where his child was and where he was able to advocate for his child and himself. I'll spot out those young male involvement workers and listen to stories that have already been told by me or another "ol school" male involvement worker. The stories never change but now I mentor, I listen, let the fathers and the workers share their stress and their success. The longer you stay in this game of outreach to men the more you see the need to validate the validaters If we, who have been in this field for the past 15 - 20 years don't than who will?......With that, who will educate the fathers at the early stage of their child’s life who will those fathers talk to who will validate them and look for the reason to validate them? I look forward to networking in Tennessee. I look forward to meeting old but mostly new people that share the same true passion and reason(s) on why and figure out ways to engage, support and empower fathers/men in the lives of and in support of their children and others.

At a resource Fair in New Haven CT., I met a gentleman who was very passsionate about.........