NONPROFIT

KC Dad Day Hosted by Jack and Jill of America.

On June 11, food trucks, luxury cars, and over 50 participants gathered around the Lake Olathe Marina. But this was no ordinary day of fun in the sun. These men met to enjoy food, music, yard games and cigars, and swap stories of their experiences with fatherhood.

Dia Wall, anchor and reporter for KSHB and associate of the Johnson County chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., was thrilled about the success of the organization’s first KC Dad Day, sponsored by companies including Blue KC and Charlie Hustle.

“We’ve been very blessed by those that saw the spirit in what we do,” Wall says, “and I just want to say thank you to everyone that supported us.”

Jack and Jill is a national organization that represents more than 40,000 family members and has worked on promoting healthy families and communities for more than 80 years. The organization rallies around families of color and develops programming for children (and families) centered on five core values: cultural awareness, educational development, health, civic engagement, and social/recreational development.

“The struggle was trying to find other families of color in the middle class,” Wall explains, speaking of the organization’s founding eight decades ago. “And even now in 2022, we’re still trying to create community.”

The chronic stress and strife associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to community development initiatives. But even before the shutdown, Wall saw a need to bring families together for the benefit of their children. “We operate in these silos, and then we step out and say ‘Oh wow! My community needs a little bit more sparkle,’” she says.

Dia and other area moms have banded together to bring that sparkle to area families. In an effort to “raise kids who are informed, civically minded, and engaged in the community around them,” teens associated with the Johnson County chapter of Jack and Jill have participated in competitions and speech-writing, raised money to address teen mental health, engaged in leadership development education, participated in community service, and learned from (and been inspired by) others in their community.

“We amplify our resources when we band together,” Wall says. Her organization has amplified their reach to more than 200 families by partnering with The Family Conservancy – a local organization that focuses on whole family support and education – in part because of a group Wall identified as needing support – dads.

“There are a lot of organizations for moms,” she says. Jack and Jill itself was started by mothers and maintains executive leadership and membership by and for moms. Through partnering with The Family Conservancy – which provides whole family support, parenting classes, and programming around fatherhood – Wall says that the local chapter has begun the work of reaching out to “fathers who didn’t grow up with their own dads,” and lack role models for successful fatherhood.

“You need both,” she says.

And so KC Dad Day was born. At the first event, over 50 local fathers – largely dads of color, in keeping with the organization’s mission – came together to network, learn from each

other, establish bonds, and celebrate. Organizations, such as Aristocrat Motors, La Cultura Cigar & Social, Blue Note, and Riverset volunteered time and resources so that attendees could bond over food, music, and bourbon tasting.

Though dads (and their kids) look different and lead different lives, for Dia Wall and Jack and Jill, it’s about building a community families can be proud of. “We wanted to bring us all together for those things that do make us the same,” she says.

Though tickets cost $50, Jack and Jill facilitated nominations for deserving dads, bringing in fathers who benefit themselves and others in the program even if they didn’t have the ability to pay.

Looking to the future, Wall is hopeful about increasing the scope and reach of the organization’s work toward building community and support for BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) families and children.

“We want to see people coming out to our events, to our fundraisers, and getting engaged,” she says. “We want to pull in more like-minded families. We want to build long-standing partnerships with other organizations like The Family Conservancy, and even start setting up play-dates with our kids. Next year’s KC Dad Day is already planned for June 11, 2023, and promises to bring in even more families.

As most parents can attest to, it truly takes a village to raise a child. Through Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Dia Wall and many other moms – and dads – are working to build that village right here in Kansas City.

Visit jackandjillinc.org to learn more about or support the organization, and visit kcdadday.com for details about next year’s event.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Though originally from a small town outside of Kansas City, Kansas, Matt Lancaster lives in Lawrence with his wife, son, dog, and cats, where he works as a program director for the University of Kansas School of Business.