Fresno, Calif., Joins City Dads National Fatherhood Network

The West Coast has become a little more daddly with the addition of the Fresno Dads Group to the heart of California’s Central Valley.

The Fresno chapter is the third California outpost for City Dads Group, following Los Angeles and San Francisco.

You can find the Fresno Dads Group on these social media channels:

• Meetup (go here to join the group)
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Shane Sherman and Steven Stankivicz serve as co-organizers of the Fresno Dads Group, the 23rd outpost of City Dads Group’s national support and social network. The group started several years ago as the Fresno Area Dads on Facebook.

Sherman, 44, a father of what he says are two “awesome, rambunctious boys,” is a California credentialed physical education teacher by profession and a certified sports massage therapist by trade.

“When my wife and I moved to Fresno, I was starving for adult interaction and places to take our kids. My wife discovered Fresno Area Dads on Facebook and suggested I join, which I did. I think I was the 59th member at the time,” he said. “Eventually, I started meeting more and more dads at parks, the zoo, play places all over the place. … Our group has grown from 59 members to almost 200 in the last three years.”

Stankivicz, 28, a father of what he calls “one sassy and beautiful 2-year-old girl,” has worked in the public safety industry for nine years, first for a large metro ambulance company and now as a police officer for a small foothill community.

Taking Fresno Dads to the next level

“I felt like I was ready to take the (Facebook) group to the next level but I needed some help to best serve the fathers in my community and that is why I decided to reach out to City Dads Group,” said Stankivicz, whose wife is expecting a second child in November. “Since Shane has been so active in the group I invited him to also join me in reaching out to City Dads Group. We are honored and very excited to be a part of the CDG and look forward to what the future holds for us.”

City Dads Group is a dynamic and diverse community of fathers redefining, by example, what it means to be a dad in the 21st century. Our national support network has more than 5,000 members based in and around major metropolitan U.S. cities including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Founded in November 2008 in New York City as a way a handful of fathers could arrange playdates and outings with their children, the organization went national in 2014.