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Father’s Day is a special time of the year. It is a time to celebrate. It is a time to be thankful. It is an opportunity to spend time with our fathers or reflect on the memories we have of fathers no longer with us. Also, as fathers, we can think about those special times we have had with our own children. However, many children will spend this Father’s Day without a dad involved in their lives. An important initiative of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is to reconnect fathers and their children. In many of South Carolina’s poor communities, the absence of a father in the household is pervasive. Research shows that father absence leads to negative outcomes for children and bears significant social and economic consequences.
Since 1998, our Foundation has invested more than $18 million to reengage fathers and their children, and help fathers become contributing members of society. Our fatherhood programs around South Carolina support relationship building, job training, GED attainment, child support payment, health access and other important programs and resources that help fathers assimilate back into a productive family life.
Last year, more than 1,700 men were served through the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an outgrowth of the Foundation’s Fatherhood Initiative. Of these men, 527 gained employment and an additional 261 men received a better paying job. Nearly one third of these fathers improved their relationship with their child or children.
One extremely important financial statistic is that these fathers paid $1,151,759 in child support payments in 2011 and $188,000 in arrears payments. Had fatherhood programs not existed for these men, they likely would have landed in jail at great expense to South Carolina taxpayers. This year, 2012, marks the ten-year anniversary of the Foundation’s establishment of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families. Over the past decade, thousands of men were served throughout state. Thousands of men have entered the workforce and millions of dollars were collected in child support payments. There are no quick fixes or easy answers to a lot of the problems these fathers face. Fatherhood programs through the Center are changing the lives of fathers and children and the results are measurable and successful.
This is a time in which we express gratitude for our own fathers and for our own children. South Carolinians should also be grateful for programs and services that are provided for those fathers that have very few options and are struggling to meet their parental and financial obligations. Let’s hope that this Father’s Day is special for all of South Carolina’s fathers and their children. They truly deserve it.
Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.
In celebration of National Philanthropy Day, today, this post is taken from the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina's release announcing the Foundation's 15-year anniversary.
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, celebrates 15 years in philanthropy this fall. The Foundation, formed out of the sale of fifty percent of Providence Hospitals in 1996, is the only statewide grantmaker having awarded grants to nonprofit and faith-based organizations in all 46 South Carolina counties.
“The work of this Foundation has been inspiring, rewarding and challenging,” said Tom Keith, president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. “We have learned a lot about ourselves and the communities we serve. While we have adapted to change over the past 15 years, we have always remained steady to our mission to reduce poverty in the state.”
Since its beginning, the Sisters of Charity Foundation has awarded more than 1,400 grants and over $42 million to faith-based and nonprofit organizations throughout the state. “It is one thing to understand the disparity of the poor, but it is quite another to invest tremendous energy and resources to affect change in their lives,” said Yvonne Orr, a Charleston native and board chair. “We have supported organizations at all levels and have witnessed many triumphs and change.”
The Foundation’s Fatherhood Initiative is an example of recognizing a need and continuing to support it. Since 1998, the Foundation has invested more than $19 million in the Fatherhood Initiative, a statewide initiative working to strengthen relationships between low-income fathers and their families in South Carolina. The Fatherhood Initiative has received national recognition for its innovative approach and is viewed as a best practice. In 2002, the Foundation established the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, a nonprofit organization which develops and supports a statewide infrastructure that strengthens relationships between fathers and families throughout South Carolina. The Center currently oversees six fatherhood programs through 11 sites across the state.
The Sisters of Charity Foundation has impacted nonprofits and South Carolina beyond grantmaking. Through its Carolina Academy for Nonprofits, created in 2008, the Foundation has provided training and technical assistance to hundreds of nonprofit staff and volunteers at no cost. A partnership was even formed with Columbia College to give nonprofit leaders an opportunity for formal, graduate-level education and the potential to earn certificate in Nonprofit Leadership Training from Columbia College’s Organizational Change Management graduate program. This certificate program is now in its third year, and nonprofits―and the communities they serve―reap the benefits.
“We look for ways to build the capacity of organizations in which we invest. Many of the groups have an inspiring mission but lack the necessary skills to implement programs effectively,” said Orr. “Our job is to help bring them to a level where they can make their program successful, and ultimately impact their community and the people they serve.”
Additionally, the Foundation has spearheaded the start of several new organizations to meet targeted needs and foster collaboration. The Foundation was instrumental in the creation of the South Carolina Grantmakers Network, formed in 1997. The South Carolina Grantmakers Network is a group of more than 40 philanthropic grantmaking organizations across the state who come together to discuss current issues and common concerns. The Foundation aided in forming the South Carolina Center for Grassroots and Non-Profit Leadership at Clemson University, the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance and the Fatherhood Policy Project Office.
The Foundation finds itself in the position as one of the largest South Carolina-based foundations with assets of $82 million. “It is not about our size. It is about our role as a funder, a convener, an advocate and change maker. It is about seeing the state as a whole, and finding ways to reduce poverty and be a voice for the underserved,” said Keith. “We have never attempted to do this on our own; any success the Foundation has witnessed has been the result of working with others at multiple levels.”
About the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, established in 1996, is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System. The Foundation is committed to addressing the needs of the poor and underserved in all 46 South Carolina counties, and strategically uses resources to reduce poverty through action, advocacy and leadership.
Father’s Day is a time to reflect on the experiences that many of us have with our fathers and, as fathers, with our own children. However, many children will spend this Father’s day without a dad present in their lives. One of the important initiatives of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina has been to re-engage dads with their children. Often times, circumstances create a complicated dynamic between fathers and their children, particularly in South Carolina’s poor communities. Sine 1998, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina has invested more than $17 million to help reconnect fathers with their children. The Foundation has also assisted fathers in becoming contributing members of society. This is accomplished through multiple fatherhood programs around the state. Program services include support for job training, relationship building, education (acquiring a GED), payment of child support, health access and an array of other areas of support to meet fathers where they most need it.
The statistics are impressive. The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an outgrowth of the Foundation's Fatherhood Initiative, reports that more than 1,500 men were served through their programs last year. From that group, 452 gained employment and paid more than $964,000 in child support. Some were even able to pay arrears for past due child support, and more than $179,000 in arrears was collected. Had fatherhood programs not been an option for these men, there is a strong probability that they would have landed in jail which would have cost state taxpayers a significant expense. The South Carolina Supreme Court Justice and many Family Court Judges have embraced the “alternatives to incarceration” concept and Family Court Judges are ordering men to enroll in fatherhood programs. Many of these men attend parenting education classes and most increase the time spent with their child. Several received health screenings and gained access to health care for health issues that previously were untreated, such as hypertension and diabetes.
So as we celebrate Father’s Day in 2011, we have a lot to be grateful for. We are grateful for our own fathers and also for our children. South Carolinians should also be grateful for the programs and services that are being provided for those fathers who have very few options and are struggling to meet their parental and financial obligations. Let’s hope that this Father’s Day is a special one for all of South Carolina’s fathers and their children. They all deserve it.
Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Courageous, thoughtful and spirited women have led national movements that fought for women’s rights and advocated for changes in attitudes and policies that diminished women. Men, too, have joined with women-led causes.
Now a national movement focused on men needs the active involvement and support of women. This movement addresses one of the most devastating trends of our time: father absence. The fatherhood movement focuses on men and the well-being of children.
Being a part of South Carolina’s fatherhood movement for more than ten years, I have seen first-hand ways women can support or hinder the involvement of fathers in their children’s lives.
Here are some useful ways women can support fathers.
First, support men in their parenting role. Men parent differently from women. Research shows that fathers parenting style while different from mothers is important in shaping healthy well-rounded children.
Second, encourage men to find help and get support in their role as fathers. Many fathers have not had a positive father role model in their lives. There are growing resources and fathers groups available to help support men in their role as fathers. For example, The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, established in 2002 by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, supports local fatherhood programs in eleven communities across the state where low-income fathers can get help.
Third, women in traditional social service and educational roles should foster father involvement. For some time, we have focused on empowering mothers as parents to the exclusion of fathers. Admittedly, many dads have not been around leaving mothers to be the sole nurturer and provider. We need to acknowledge that children suffer without a father’s involvement. We should ask the question, what role can or should the child’s father play then reach out to get him to become actively involved. Women can support new expectations, policies and attitudes, that foster father involvement much like men have done for women.
Fourth, women can contribute and encourage increased resources and funding for fatherhood programs. While women have fought fiercely for much-needed funding for women’s needs, we too must support funding for fathers for the benefit of children. Supporting fathers does not mean diminishing what is being done for women. It is simply a recognition that we need both.
Finally, when the father is not living in the home with the children, mothers and grandmothers are the ones who grant access for fathers to their children. Mothers and grandmothers hold the formidable role as gatekeepers. Too often women vent their anger and disappointment with the fathers by withholding the children.
So women, if not for the men, then for the children let’s get behind the fatherhood movement that calls men to be responsible and accountable while providing resources needed to fulfill their role as actively involved fathers.
Patricia Littlejohn is the assistant executive director of the Sisters of Charity Foundation and the executive director of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families.
