DMAD CELEBRATES 15-YEARS!!!

DADS MAKE A DIFFERENCE was born from the collaboration of four amazing women in 1993.  This makes 2008 our 15th Anniversary Year!  We have much to CELEBRATE and be THANKFUL for and did so at our annual benefit event held in June.  DMAD is grateful for everyone who supported us by volunteering, attending the event, participating in the silent auction, sponsoring the event, and/or making a donation if you couldn't attend. 

If you'd like to make a donation to help DMAD continue our important work, you can click on the PayPal Donate button further down this page and in other places on the DMAD website.Two of the major causes of children living in poverty are too-early parenting and absentee fathers.  Research shows that a family headed by a teen mother will likely have reduced educational attainment, reduced income, and increased reliance on public resources.  Research also shows that children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors such as drug use, truancy, and criminal activity compared to children who have uninvolved fathers.  Preparing young people to become caring, competent parents may be the single most effective way to prevent child abuse and other violence, increase mental health, advance school preparedness, and achieve academic success for future generations. DMAD builds the capacity of trained teen peer educators in local communities to focus the attention of youth on the personal, economic, and social impact of the decisions they make before becoming a parent.  DMAD helps youth develop attitudes, behaviors, and skills vital to their social and emotional well-being and provides youth with knowledge and resources necessary for them to thrive and make successful transitions to adulthood and future parenthood.

DMAD JOINS MYSPACE and FACEBOOK

DADS MAKE A DIFFERENCE HAS JOINED THE WORLD OF SOCIAL NETWORKING.   We've recently added Dads Make a Difference MySpace and Facebook pages.  We're pretty much a novice at this social networking thing so our pages are pretty basic right now, but hope to learn more in the coming months.  We are looking to connect with "friends" who are current and former DMAD peer educators, adult advisors, or trainers to hear what's new and how DMAD involvement has impacted your life.  Please check us out and once we have verified your DMAD participation we would love for you to share your stories.

DMAD STATUS and LOCATION

DADS MAKE A DIFFERENCE LOCATED IN KELLY INN.   After 13 years as a program of several host organizations, DMAD became an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization in June 2006.  Our address is 161 St. Anthony Avenue, Suite 840, Saint Paul, MN  55103.  Executive Director, Jan Hayne, can be reached by email at jan "at" dadsmakeadifference.org.  PLEASE NOTE: You will need to replace "at" with @.  Due to an incredible increase in SPAM email, I have removed all active email links from the website and references to my email address.  I apologize for the inconvenience.  Phone: 651-222-1622.  Fax: 651-222-7532.

DADS MAKE A DIFFERENCE BOARD - DMAD Board members include: Molly Oberweiser (President), Fred Bartling Jr. (Vice President), Derrick Banks (Treasurer), Madge Alberts (Secretary), Paul Masiarchin, Rebecca Shavlik, Tamara Mattison, Anne Workman, and Tom Anderson.  At our June quarterly meeting we said goodbye to departing board members Rose Allen, Kathy Brothen, Kellen McWhite, Toby Spanier, and Nate Rauschendorfer.  We hope to add an additional 2 members in the second half of 2008.  Please contact Jan Hayne, DMAD Executive Director, if you are interested in becoming a DMAD Board member.

TAX DEDUCTIBLE ON-LINE DONATIONS are now possible  

Click the donate button located in various places on the website to make an immediate contribution.

TRAINING, TEACHING, and CURRICULUM

FALL 2008 TRAINING DATES are being scheduled.  A southern Minnesota training will be scheduled for October 2008, date TBD yet.  The metro training is scheduled for Sunday-Monday, November 16-17, 2008 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Plymouth, the same site we've been at for the past few years now.

TRAINING REGISTRATION FORMS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE FOR FASTER ACCESS.  You can now print registration forms for upcoming teen trainings directly from the website.  No more waiting for forms to be mailed to you.  This also saves DMAD paper and postage costs (and trees in the environment).  To access registration forms, from the Middle School Curriculum link go to Training-Registration where you will see both the Adult Packet and the Teen Packet.  Print all generic forms using the Printer Icon on the right side of the toolbar directly above each form.  You will also need to print the training specific forms (there are just a few of these) depending on when you plan to attend.  These forms include the site specific dates, times, and emergency phone numbers.  Please call or email Jan Hayne if you have any questions ... and also to let her know of your intent to participate in training and how many youth you will bring.  Thanks!

WINTER 2008 TEEN TRAINING HELD.   An additional DMAD teen training was held on February 4, 2008 at the Dakota Lodge at Thompson County Park in West St Paul.  23 teens and their adult advisors were trained.

FALL 2007 TEEN TRAININGS HELD.   Our southern MN DMAD teen training was held October 29, 2007 at the Best Western in Mankato where we trained 23 teens and 7 adults from 6 schools.  At the November metro training held Sunday-Monday, November 11-12, 2007 at the Radisson Inn and Conference Center in Plymouth we trained 36 teens and 8 adults from 6 schools/agencies.  Both trainings were open to participants statewide.

REDO OF CURRICULUM VIDEO/DVD ON HOLD.  DMAD knows many of you are waiting anxiously for this project to be completed.  We're standing right there with you.  Due to some budgetary issues, this project is temporarily on hold but we hope to get back on track with this project very soon.  Stay tuned for updates.

DMAD TEEN PEER EDUCATOR TEACHING.   DMAD is looking forward to getting reports about all the DMAD teaching teens are doing in their communities.  If we can be of assistance in any way as teaching opportunities are scheduled, please let us know.  We also like to observe teen peer educator teaching when it fits in our schedule, so please let us know when you get dates scheduled by emailing Jan Hayne.

DONATIONS and FUNDRAISING

MAKE A FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION to help Dads Make a Difference continue this important work.  All donations are tax deductible.  Please check out our DONATE link to make a donation that will enable us to reach more youth with our mission: to promote the positve involvement of fathers and to educate youth about responsible parenting.  THANK YOU for your support of Dads Make a Difference.

DO YOU HAVE IDEAS FOR FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES, especially activities that participating schools and organizations statewide can do right in their own communities to help raise money to support DMAD work?  Please share them with the DMAD Fundraising Task Force by emailing Jan Hayne.

NEWSLETTER STORIES

HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH DMAD?  Consider writing an article for an upcoming issue of our Dateline: DMAD newsletter.  Submissions for the newsletter are sent to Jan Hayne.  Electronic submissions are preferred.  Photos are welcome too!  Editor reserves the right to make discretionary edits based on space limitations and relevance to our DMAD audience.

GREAT RESOURCES

PREPARE TOMORROW'S PARENTS - To learn more about the benefits of Parenting Education for young people, visit www.preparetomorrowsparents.org or call 1-888-PARENTS.  Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month is from Mother's Day through Father's Day.  This is an important opportunity for all educators and advocates of preparing children and teens for parenting to make a difference. Select your activities and get started by going to www.preparetomorrowsparents.org/ptpmonth.htm

NEED RESOURCES ON FATHERING ISSUES OR FATHER SERVICES IN MN?  Check out our link to the MINNESOTA FATHERS AND FAMILIES NETWORK for some great information including the publication "Do We Count Fathers in Minnesota?".

STATEWIDE FATHERHOOD BLUEPRINT, Fathers to the Forefront: Increasing healthy father involvement with children, families, and communities, is a statewide plan to strengthen Minnesota fathers and families. This 5-year action plan promotes concrete steps for agencies and organizations to increase father-friendly and father-inclusive programs and policies.  Jan Hayne, Dads Make a Difference Executive Director, was one of 65 individuals who supported the development of this action plan.

MAY IS TEEN PREGNANCY AWARENESS MONTH AND OCTOBER IS LET'S TALK MONTH.  For some great resources, statistics, and other information visit the MOAPPP website.