A newsletter item from his son’s school grabbed Jonathan Graham’s interest: It offered a chance to meet other dads and to volunteer, and it threw in coffee and doughnuts as well. It checked all the boxes the newcomer to Fayette County was looking for, and then some.
“We moved here from New Jersey three years ago, and I saw this as a great opportunity to meet other dads, grandfathers, brothers and uncles, and to serve the school community,” he said. “Especially as the dad of a younger student, I thought it would be a great way to get involved early on.”
Graham now has sons in second grade and pre-K at Spring Hill Elementary in Fayetteville, and he’s become a fixture of Dudes, Doors and Doughnuts day. Launched four years ago by the school’s parent liaison, Cara Colson, the program asks the men in the students’ lives to get to school early on the third Thursday of each month and help kids out of cars and into the building.
Colson, who has been at the 676-student school for 10 years, came up with the idea as part of her charge to increase parental involvement. With the dudes’ day, she had a particular aim in mind.
“I realized that so often more women volunteer than men,” she said. “Students are so used to seeing moms in the classroom or selling ice cream. And we only have one male faculty member, so students don’t have the opportunity to see men as often as women. I wanted to target something where kids got to see men volunteering.”
The task is a simple one: Show up at 7:10 a.m. and as soon as the bell rings to open the building, head out to the carpool lane, open doors, greet kids and help them out onto the sidewalk. But the rewards are big, Colson said.
“The kids love it; they especially like seeing people other than the teachers, and they really like seeing dads. We usually have about 10 men who might be granddads, uncles or even community volunteers or mentors from area churches. And the teachers also like it; once a month, they get a break from carpool.”
Graham, who has only missed a few days since he signed on, said the greeters are having a good time, too.
“I love greeting the parents and students,” he said. “My goal is to put a smile on their faces. It’s a small chance to give back, and yeah, I love the doughnuts afterwards when I get to see other guys from the community.”
Initially, Colson said she thought she’d have to facilitate the conversation over coffee. But the group hasn’t needed any encouragement to connect.
“They ask about each other and their children, and they’ve formed friendships,” she said. “I know one dad whose son graduated last year, and he still keeps in touch.”
Along with those connections, Graham said volunteering has brought an additional perk. “I get to be known as my kid’s dad. Plenty of times, I’ve gotten kids out of cars, and they say, ‘Hey, you’re Daniel’s dad.’ It’s a lot of fun to go somewhere where my sons are the focus.”
MAKING THE GRADE
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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