MONTECITO — On Sunday, June 19, the Montecito Family YMCA joins the nation in celebrating Father’s Day and recognizing the impact fathers and adult male role models make in children’s lives.
The Y, a leading nonprofit in fostering positive youth development, is dedicated to providing both resources and opportunities for fathers to further involve themselves in the well-being and development of their children.
The YMCA’s Role in the First Father’s Day
The tradition of honoring fathers on this day started at the Spokane YMCA in 1910. While attending a Mother’s Day event at her local YMCA, Sonora Louis Smart Dodd’s thoughts immediately turned to her father, a Civil War veteran who raised her and her five brothers after her mother died in childbirth. Dodd thought that fathers also deserved to be honored with religious services, special meals, small gifts and roses.
She shared her idea with local religious leaders at the Spokane YMCA and they agreed, passing a resolution to observe a Father’s Day. The Spokane YMCA held the first Father’s Day celebration on June 19, 1910 and in 1971 President Nixon and Congress issued proclamations and endorsements of Father’s day as a national tradition.
Celebrating Fathers Today
Today, fathers are beginning to play a more active role in child raising with more than two million men being the primary caregiver to their children and more than 20 percent being stay at home dads.
According to a report from the National Center for Fathering, children whose fathers are involved in their lives are more confident and less anxious in unfamiliar settings, are better able to deal with frustration, better develop a sense of independence, are more likely to become compassionate adults, have higher self-esteem, have higher grade-point averages, are more likely to be sociable.
A leading nonprofit in fostering positive youth development, the Y remains dedicated to providing resources and opportunities for fathers to further involve themselves in the well-being and development of their children.
The Montecito Family YMCA offers a variety of programs that foster understanding and companionship between children and their fathers such as parent and child swim lessons, youth sports with volunteer opportunities for dad such as coaching, and YMCA parent and child Adventure Guides
To learn more about programs and activities available at the Montecito Family YMCA contact Aaron Martinez at aaron.martinez@ciymca.org or visit ciymca.org/Montecito.
About the Channel Islands YMCA: Established in 1887, the Channel Islands YMCA is a charitable organization of seven YMCA branches serving Santa Barbara and Ventura counties including: Camarillo Family YMCA, Lompoc Family YMCA, Montecito Family YMCA, Santa Barbara Family YMCA, Stuart C. Gildred Family YMCA in Santa Ynez, Ventura Family YMCA, and Youth and Family Services YMCA which operates Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter, the St. George Family Youth Center and My Home.
The Y is the nation’s leading nonprofit committed to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Channel Islands YMCA serves over 46,000 individuals and provides over $1.3 million in financial assistance to families in need for child care, YMCA memberships, away and day camps, youth sports, and teen after-school programs. For more information about the Montecito Family YMCA, visit ciymca.org/Montecito or call (805) 969.3288.