by Gailon Wisdom, Man 2 Man
Several Fathers served by the Man 2 Man Fatherhood Initiative participated in a DADS 2 GRADS event on May 29 at the Southeastern Institute for Manufacturing and Technology building on the campus of Florence Darlington Technical College. Executive Director of the Man 2 Man Fatherhood Initiative, Derrick Dease mentioned that the event is geared towards equipping fathers with job skills in order to create a financial legacy for their families.
Each father completed an enrollment of the Kuder Career Assessment. This is an application that helps people be a better decision maker of the career path to focus on. This initiative was supported and encouraged by Marc Himes, the Program Director at the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families. Charlotte Forrest, director for the Corporate Workforce Development department, also supported the event. This new partnership between both organization will now offer several certified, on the job skills training to the fathers of the program. These training ranges from Industrial Manufacturing Skills, Forklift Driving, Welding, CDL, Osha, Health Care and several others. Today, almost 20 fathers have already enrolled and completed the Industrial Manufacturing Skills training.
The event also hosted an Employer’s panel with representatives from several companies located in Florence. Persons on the panel were Joshua Small from McLeod Health Care, Louis Smalls from Waffle House, Tammy Howl from Vulcraft, Matthew Temple from Otis Elevator and Lonnie Page from Target. Lonnie Page is also a success story of the Man 2 Man program. Craig Lightfoot the Employment Opportunity Developer of the program stated that “it was important to give our participants that one-on-one experience with the individuals who plays that major role for employment”. One of the fathers in attendance received the opportunity to bypass the application process and go straight into the interview with one of the companies present, because he was a part of the fatherhood program and has certification and experience as a welder.
The event ended with a campus tour and a graduation of all the participants in attendance. Each participant received a certificate for participation and several gift items to encourage continuation of education. Richard Barr Director of Community Development and Programming for the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families encouraged the graduates “to persistently look for the opportunities that are around and be prepared to see them. Preparedness is the currency of the 21st Century!”.
Man 2 Man is one of six other Fatherhood Initiative in the state and is responsible for serving fathers in the Pee Dee region. Counties served are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence and Marlboro. Other major contributors to the success of this event were Sisters of Charity Foundation, South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, Children’s Trust of South Carolina, South Carolina Campaign of Teenage and Darlington County First Steps. For more information call 843-676-0407 or 843-479-4177. Or visit www.man2manfathers.com or www.facebook.com/man2manfathers.
