Baltimore, MD – Dean Radcliffe-Lynes, President of D.R.Lynes, VTP, LLC, announced the launch of the Daddy’s Here: When Being Present Is The Only Option documentary and National Community Outreach Campaign (www.daddysheremovie.com) on the Anthony McCarthy Radio program on WEAA 88.9 (Morgan State University Radio Station). Appearing on the show with some of the fathers who are interviewed in the documentary, Radcliffe-Lynes stressed the importance of dads being present in the lives of their children.
“We know the negative impact that father absence has on children, and we don’t make excuses for those men who are not in their children’s lives. What we are doing is celebrating the fathers who are present in their children’s lives, whether they are custodial or not.” She further stated that although the statistics say that 1 out of 3 American children live in father-absent homes, 2 out of 3 for black children, “what the statistics don’t show is that most of those children still have their fathers in their lives.” In fact, a recently released report indicates that more than 60 percent of low-income dads report seeing at least one of their children daily.
The documentary, still in production, includes interviews with Joseph Jones, Founder and CEO of the Center for Urban Families, nationally recognized for its Responsible Fatherhood Program; Lisa Nkonoki, President of Women in Fatherhood, Inc. (WIFI) and founder of Dads Do Make A Difference; and Shawn Dove, Manager for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement with the Open Society Foundations. The documentary also includes celebrity dads as well as everyday fathers who make Saturday morning breakfast with their children and take them to organized lacrosse games.
Daddy’s Here is more than a documentary. It is part of a National Community Outreach Campaign to put fatherhood and the critical role fathers play in the lives of their children in the forefront of this nation’s conscience. It will engage community-based organizations, faith-based institutions and fraternal organizations throughout the year to host kitchen-table discussions, community forums and town hall meetings to talk about the impact a fathers presence has on his children academically, emotionally, financially and socially and what can be, is being, should be done to assist fathers, young African American fathers in particular, to become and stay connected in their children’s lives.
“Everyone who hears about this campaign is excited about it because either they are dads who are present for their children or the dads they know are. But most important is that if our nation is to achieve its true promise, strong families are essential and families are stronger when dads are firmly in the lives of their children,” says Radcliffe-Lynes. www.daddysheremovie.com