Father's Day: Engaged and Active Fathers Are Invaluable

Today marks a little known or celebrated 100th anniversary. In 1909, a woman named Sonora Dodd in Spokane, Wash., was listening to her preacher’s sermon about the importance of honoring Mother's Day. Although she agreed it was an important day, she felt it unfair that no recognition was given to fathers. After Sonora's mother died, it was her father who made the big sacrifices in her life. He was the one who made sure she had food on the table, warm clothes to wear and that she said her nightly prayers. Why then, she wondered, were fathers not being honored in the same fashion?

Sonora began her life's mission to see that fathers received the same recognition as mothers for making the necessary sacrifices for their children. She began having a father’s day celebration during June, her birth month, every year thereafter in Spokane. But, it was not until 1972 (63 years later) that a permanent national observance of Father's Day on the third Sunday of June was established.

Today, we need to ask a similar question as the one posed by Sonora 100 years ago. Why is it that the importance of having an engaged and active father remains largely devalued and unrecognized? While Sonora’s father was loving and attentive, many fathers today are not so involved. Father absence has dramatically increased since the 1960’s. More children are living today in father absent households than during the height of World War II. Research clearly reveals that father absence has significant negative consequences for children, including child poverty. Society and taxpayers pay a tremendous price as well. Because many disregard a father’s worth and fewer people reach out to them, support for fathers is spotty and underfunded throughout our nation.

However, progress is being made in South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity Foundation has invested more than $16.5 million to support advocacy and fatherhood programs in South Carolina over the past ten years. The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an outgrowth of this initiative, supports six fatherhood programs in 12 locations across the state and serves more than 1,500 low-income fathers who want to become great dads. Fathers receive guidance, support, information and resources. They earn respect and are respected.

Support for these programs is worthwhile. They save taxpayers money and change lives. Not just for this generation but for our future generations. We can not afford to wait 50 or 100 more years to prioritize this issue that impacts us all. Yes all of us. Join Sonora’s legacy, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families and countless other partners who are working to recognize and reach out to fathers. Let your voice be heard. For more information about the Fatherhood Initiative, visit the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families or the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina Web site.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina