A team is made up of a child, a mentor, the guardian, and the program manager. There will be training sessions for the first twelve months of the program to get the team members comfortable with each other and to build the trust needed for a successful mentoring relationship.
Throughout the year, there will be special activities planned in which all teams are invited to participate such as attending a sporting event, going on a picnic, touring a horse farm, enjoying a pool party, etc. Thes activities give the mentors and mentees an opportunity to get to know each other and share ideas.
Each child is paired with one man, who will become a positive male role model in the child’s life. The mentor will develop a trusting relationship in which the child knows that he can be counted on to offer guidance in times of need. The DFAD relationship ends when the child has graduated from high school and has established a plan for the next phase of life i.e. college, trade school, military or employment. The friendship between the mentor and the family, however, will last a lifetime.
The Dads For a Day program sponsored by The Encounter Church of Wildwood will provide service to any young man between the ages of 8 and 15 living within a 20 minute drive of The Villages, Florida that is living in a home without a male role model.
Dads For a Day is a mentoring service for young men growing up without a father or other male role model in their house. Each child is assigned a mentor that will stay with the until they graduate from high school and have a plan in place for the next chapter of their life.
No, At this time we only provide service to young men. We hope to develop a program for young ladies without fathers as there is a need for them, as well.
The child and the mentor will meet for at least two hours per week. They may go to a restaurant, throw a football around, go fishing, or just find a quiet place to talk, just as a father would.
DFAD has developed a curriculum to help guide discussions. During the first four months of the program, there will be training sessions with the teams to help you get to know each other. If you or your child is not comfortable with the relationship, it will be terminated and, if you desire, a new mentor will be assigned.
DFAD does a thorough screening on every mentor, which includes a nationwide criminal background check, Social Security background check, and a driver’s license background check. The program Director then meets with any person that has applied to work in the program to explain how the program works and how to develop the relationship.
DFAD does not allow the mentor to take the child to his house, cottage, RV, or houseboat until they have been together for a year and have developed the respect for each other to be comfortable together.
About every four to six weeks, a group activity will be arranged for whichever teams are available to attend. Some examples of past activities are going to a UCF football game, bowling, touring a horse farm, airboat ride, pontoon boat ride and fishing, game nights, movie nights, etc.
First, you must complete the application. Once it is received, the Program Manager will interview the child and the guardian at their house to explain the program and be sure that they are still interested.
There is a initial commitment during which there are training sessions for the mentor/child teams and the guardians during which they will meet twice a month at the church for about 90 minutes.
The other two weeks in the month the mentors are encouraged to pair up with another team to do other activities of interest such as hiking, biking, fishing, arcade games, etc.
After the first year, the teams may do activities on their own.
DFAD does not provide auto insurance. It is required that you have adequate automobile insurance in case of an accident, the same as you would have for any other passenger.
Our insurance will not cover hunting accidents. You are not allowed to have any guns, knives or other weapons on you or in your car when you have the child with you.
You may keep a knife in your tackle box for cleaning the fish.
It is our desire that you spend about two hours per week with the child. That is the equivalent of one round of executive gold, or a session of pickleball each week. As your relationship grows and you get to know each other better, there is a good chance that you will increase the amount of time spent together. Many of our teams become very good friends with the whole family. Over time, you will feel like you have another child of your own and will be present at graduation and other important moments.
While circumstances have arisen where a mentor has had more than one child, it is not the norm, nor the desire. It makes it difficult to provide service to both children.
DFAD does not reimburse the money spent on activities with your child. DFAD does pay for the tickets to the monthly activities.
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