City Dads Group, a national support and social network that helps men navigate fatherhood, and The Handsome Father, a support community that helps connect, prepare and inspire gay fathers, have agreed to work together in their joint mission to modernize people’s view of fatherhood.
“Our two organizations share a passion for supporting dads who play an active role in their children’s lives and challenging stereotypes about fatherhood,” Handsome Father co-founders Andy Miller and Brian Stephens said in a written statement. “What makes City Dads Group the perfect partner for The Handsome Father is that they are committed to ensuring their in-person meet-up groups are welcoming and accepting of all fathers, including gay fathers.”
City Dads Group co-founder Matt Schneider said, “From the moment I met Andy and Brian, I knew they were building a unique and special community with important resources for gay dads and gay dads-to-be. We are very supportive of The Handsome Father’s mission, and we are proud that they are trusting City Dads Group and its diverse membership to be a resource for the community they have built.”
By working with City Dads Group and its national network of outposts in 17 major U.S. metropolitan areas, The Handsome Father will be able to give its community more options to connect locally with other modern dads for support and social activities. City Dads Group — which has large chapters in New York City, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles — broadens its membership and support resources by working with The Handsome Father.
“We know firsthand as gay dads that it can be extremely difficult to find other families like ours,” Miller and Stephens said. “As dads who are also primary caregivers, it can also be difficult to not get lost in a sea of moms. So, we realize the power of sharing experiences and having the support of other fathers. City Dads Group offers dads of all stripes support, not just online but also in real life, making them a perfect match for us.”
City Dads organizes group play dates and events, “Dads’ Nights Out,” parental educational workshops and much more for its members. The flagship New York City group also offers “New Dad Boot Camp” to teach new and soon-to-be fathers how to care for the child and be better parenting partners.
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. 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 spring 2014. City Dads Group has 4,000 members who bond over their children and a desire to change the face of modern fatherhood through word, deed, and example.
The Handsome Father, officially launched in April 2014 as the culmination of seven years of work and preparation, aims to build a community of support for gay fathers no matter their path to fatherhood: foster care, adoption, surrogacy, co-parenting with a woman, or biological children from a heterosexual relationship.
Leave a Reply