About the Fame Fathers Initiative
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Pastor Eugene Norris II
CEO,
Charisma Community Connections
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The mission of the FameFathers Initiative is
to improve the well-being of children by increasing the
proportion of children growing up with involved,
responsible, and committed fathers and significant males.
The initiative is a response to escalating
social concerns regarding "father absence" by providing
fathers with access to services designed to prepare them to
better meet the emotional, psychological, and financial
needs of their children.
The initiative is a collaborative effort
among several local fatherhood service providers, including:
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Dads Do Care
CEO Lorenzo Lewis |
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Men’s Fraternity
Deacon Bertram Levels |
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S.L.A.A.P (Start Living & Acting
Positive)
Mike Starks |
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100 Black Men Akron Chapter
and Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
President Mike Irby |
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Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
(IMA)
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Firm Foundation for Men
Apostle Reggie Ray
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Mt.
Olive Baptist Church
"
Men of Valor"
Deacon Rick Owens
Pastor William Bunton
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FameFathers Receives
$160,000 from the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood
Father’s Day came a few months early this
year as members of the FameFathers Initiative, a program
component of Charisma Community Connection and Summit County
Fatherhood Initiative (SCFI), gathered this weekend at the
“Our City, Our Ward” Ward 4 meeting presented by Councilman
Russ Neal, to celebrate receiving a $160,000 grant from the
Ohio Commission on Fatherhood.
Mr. Tracy Robinson, director of the Ohio
Commission on Fatherhood, was on hand to present the award
to Pastor Eugene Norris, “Charisma Community Connections,” and
its partnering organizations for being 1 out of 7 groups in the
state
receiving the award.
This funding will allow for training,
fatherhood sessions and materials, site development, events,
and special speakers.
Pastor Eugene Norris, CEO of the FameFathers Initiative, is very optimistic about the potential
of this undertaking: “For years we have noticed a missing
component in many of our family and youth initiatives; that
missing piece was the fathers. When we hear stats like,
'80%
of students in a local school don’t have fathers in the
home,' or witness stories in the news such as one Stark County
school having 64 girls pregnant (which is a key indicator of
father absences), we know something must be done. We will use the
grant to leverage other resources within the region to
continue to strengthen and grow our efforts.”
Sharing this optimism was State Representative Vernon Sykes,
who reiterated Norris's compelling
comments during this fall’s S.C.F.I “Fatherhood Summit” at
Akron’s main library. Sykes reaffirmed not only his support,
but also his commitment to fatherhood and fatherhood
programs.
Pastor Norris states,
"the Commission has
not given us the green-light to launch (having to deal with
protocol), but region-9 (Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, and
Wayne counties) and the local community can expect a great
deal of movement soon."
For more information on the FameFathers Initiative, please
contact either CEO Pastor Eugene Norris or Program Manager
John Hafford II at 330.873.9793. |
