About City Dads
City Dads Group is a dynamic, diverse and inclusive community of fathers dedicated to being active in their children’s lives and, by example, redefining what it means to be a dad in the 21st century.
We are now a part of ALL PARENTS WELCOME, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating more support and inclusivity within parenting culture.
We bring fathers together, in real life and online, to:
Support each other’s efforts to be the best possible father and parenting partner
Share parenting perspectives, knowledge and experiences – good and bad
Demonstrate that modern parenting includes caring and capable fathers actively involved in raising their children
City Dads Group has chapters in most major metropolitan areas in the United States and eastern Canada. Our members get together, with and without their children, to socialize with, learn from, and support one another.
City Dads Groups also works with reporters, brands and entertainment outfits to encourage more accurate and positive representation of fathers and fatherhood in media, advertising and entertainment.
Our History
The City Dads Story
November 2008: It’s a mom, mom, mom, mom world of parenting.
New York City residents Matt Schneider and Lance Somerfeld learned this quickly after each became a stay-at-home father, a decision reached with their wives out of a desire to have a parent home to raise their children and out of practicality – financial, logistical and otherwise.
They found mom-centric “parenting” publications, mom blogs and “Mommy & Me” classes all around them. But what about dads?
These two friends and former teaching colleagues realized there must be other fathers like them in the Big Apple. They created NYC Dads Group as a way to meet them. Initially composed of a handful of fathers, NYC Dads Group grew to have more than 900 members in five years.
Buoyed by their success, Matt and Lance expanded the concept in 2013 by helping start similar groups in other major metropolitan areas around the United States. This national organization is City Dads Group. In the years since, City Dads Group has grown to boast tens of thousands of members in from Charlotte to Seattle, Toronto to Orlando, and many places in between.
Outreach
A good, thriving community gives back to those in need and contributes to the betterment of society. City Dads chapters and their members are active participants in local and national campaigns for parenting-related causes. These have included:
Dove Men+Care
Dove Men+Care not only makes grooming products for guys, the brand campaigns for various issues related to men and fathers. We have partnered many times with DM+C to advocate for various causes including a national paid family leave law and a broader view of men as caregivers.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
City Dads Group chapters from coast-to-coast have set up lemonade stands to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation to aid its effort to fund research to find better treatments and ultimately a cure for childhood cancer. (Read about what we’ve done here!)
GOOD+ Foundation
NYC Dads Group and L.A. Dads Group members have volunteered numerous times over the years to work with Good+ Foundation (formerly Baby Buggy) collecting, sorting, and bundling donated children’s clothing and gear that is distributed to help families in need. (Read about what we’ve done here!)
Plum Organics
Hearty donations through partner Plum Organics, one of the leading organic baby food brands in the United States, allowed our members to stock food pantries throughout the country to assist families with young children in need.
Movember
We have grown mustaches in November as a “living ribbon” to raise awareness about health issues that affect men such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, anxiety, and depression. Our co-sponsored teams for the Movember Foundation have raised tens of thousands of dollars to support these causes.
National Diaper Bank Network
One in three U.S. families with children under age 4 lack a sufficient supply of diapers and wipes to keep their infant or toddler dry, clean and healthy. City Dads has worked with the National Diaper Bank Network and its founder, Huggies, to supply and stock NDBN outlets with necessities for these families.