SUITLAND, Md. — Fathers, grandfathers and other male mentors turned out Monday at more than a dozen Prince George’s County schools to spend time with their kids, marking national Men Make a Difference Day.
Census Bureau figures indicate that 1/3 of children in the United States go to bed each night without a father in the home. Men Make a Difference Day, established by educator Michael Robinson, is meant to call attention to the critical role fathers play in their children’s academic success.
At William Beanes Elementary School in Suitland, the guys showed up in force, packing the school’s auditorium to the delight of the kids.
“My dad is special because he always makes room for me…I like to play catch and I like to play basketball with him,” declared Manhattan Doles, age 7, whose dad, Kenneth, is a valet supervisor for Kimpton Hotels.
“He has an excellent love for school,” Kenneth Doles says about his second- grader, “so I’m just making sure I support him in all I do.”
The men and the kids shared time together in workshops on money management, physical fitness and learning life skills ranging from how to pitch a tent to how to tie a necktie.
The proud faces of 6th grader Kasha Brunson and her 5th grade sister Kennyatta Brunson beamed in the company of their uncle, Erwin Sutton of Temple Hills, an instrumentation technician for the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.
“He’s a great uncle, he’s there for us whenever we need him and we can just call him up and he’ll be there,” Kasha says.
“He’s really nice all the time, he’s never rude to anyone…he’s really important to me,” adds Kennyatta.
The men and the children heard encouraging words from Lionel Savage, a financial services executive, the president of Lionheart Consulting Group and the father of three children.
“With the Internet and cell phones, there’s just so much stuff going on. Our children are inundated with bad messages all the time and we have to protect them from that,” Savage says.
Savage insists dads need to do more than provide discipline — they must offer constant encouragement.
“Children need to see that their father has an expectation of excellence,” says Savage.
Leaving no doubt that dads make a difference, 5-year-old Jason Curtis says about his dad Eugene, “We like to go outside and play. We call ourselves Super Daddy and Super Kid.”
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