Dads in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota now have a resource for advice on fatherhood, a network for setting up playdates and help meeting other fathers active in their kids lives — the Twin Cities Dads Group.
Twin Cities Dads Group becomes the 21th chapter of City Dads Group’s national network of fathers who support and socialize with each other with one goal in mind — become the best parent you can.
Find the Twin Cities Dads Group on:
The group will be led by John W. Francis, a work-at-home father of two daughters. The St. Paul resident who works as a retail franchising consultant is one of the creators of “Fathers Eve,” an event held the night before Father’s Day to raise awareness of the importance of being an engaged father as well as to support various dad-related charities. The Twin Cities event raised $12,000 in 2015 and is expanding nationally this year.
“I met the City Dads Group founders at the Dad 2.0 Summit in February 2016, and asked ‘Where we’re you when I was the only dad at the playground? The only dad at field trips, and the rest of it?'” he said. “I’m now very glad to know it’s out there and I can bring it to the Twin Cities.”
Chris Brandenburg will work alongside Francis as a co-organizer. The Twin Cities resident gave up his career managing big box retail stores to raise his daughter, now 6.
“I grew up on a family farm in South Dakota. So in a sense, I had two stay at home parents, both with full-time jobs,” he said. “I absolutely love being a stay-at-home dad, and yet I’ve found the challenges of being one were not what I expected. I want to start a City Dads Group to help others with those same challenges.”
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.
Hello –
My 25 year old son is a single parent to a 9 month old baby girl. At this time, the mom has been working on her mental health since this child was born and not in the picture that often. I am desperately trying to find a place or a niche for this very young father who is going at it on his own — with his parent’s support, of course. Is there a group you could recommend or have resources to that will help him see other dads out there like himself?
Thank you,
Katie
Hi, Katie. Assuming your son lives in the Twin Cities area, our group there is perfect for him. We have dads of all ages, marital status, etc. so I’m sure he can find some peers for support. Our members or organizers might also have some recommendations for him. Have him signup via the Meetup link on this page (https://www.meetup.com/TwinCitiesDadsGroup/), then contact the organizers once he is in. Good luck.