10th Annual Father Daughter Dance

March 29, 2018 – Broadway-Slavic Village, OH - University Settlement, a non-profit social service and neighborhood center, is partnering with four local schools - Warner Girls Leadership Academy, Fullerton Elementary, Mound STEM, and Willow Elementary - to host the 10th annual Father-Daughter Dance. Hosted with support from the Third Federal Foundation, the event brings fathers and daughters together for a formal evening of dinner, dancing, and fun.

           The Father-Daughter Dance will be held Wednesday, April 4th, 2018 from 5:30 P.M. – 8:30 P.M. at Sokol Greater Cleveland’s Bohemian National Hall.

           The Father-Daughter Dance is a service of University Settlement’s Fatherhood Connections Program, which encourages continuous and positive male parental involvement in the lives of their children. It does this in several ways. Firstly by helping fathers address any legal problems they may be facing including those related to paternity, child support, visitation rights, or custody; and secondly by providing opportunities for fathers to be more engaged in their children’s lives.

         Fathers play a particularly important role in their children’s education. Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school, while children with engaged fathers are more likely to get “A’s.” However, as program manager, Frederick Knuckles explains, “schools are not often ‘father-friendly’ environments. In order to get fathers into schools and create an environment that is welcoming to dads, Fatherhood Connections first had to break down the barriers and dispel the myths that prevented dads from being involved.”

        In addition to in-school involvement, Fatherhood Connections organizes many activities which allow fathers to spend quality time with their children year-round. These include outdoor activities, field trips to baseball and basketball games, and the annual Father-Daughter Dance. This event, formerly held at individual public schools, will complete its third year as a village event, and is expected to be attended by over 300 individuals.

       After a warm welcome from University Settlement’s Executive Director, Earl Pike, guests will enjoy a greeting from Al Grimes, the Director of the Cuyahoga County Fatherhood Initiative. They will also hear from Kurt Karakul, the President and Executive Director of the Third Federal Foundation.