Firstly I and the team at Dads4Kids wishes you a Happy Father’s Day!
Secondly, we thank you for your support and encouragement to produce and get the Dads4kids ‘Love your Children’ Community Service Announcement adverts out to TV stations all over Australia. We have heard many reports of people seeing the new advertisement so far.
Even people in Timor have reported seeing the Dads4Kids ad on Australian TV, broadcast from Darwin in the Northern Territory.
Twenty-five individuals have given a total of $6,025 towards our Father’s Day fundraising goal of $25,000 which means we only have to raise another $18,975. Our train driving dad gave twice to double his initial gift to reach a total giving amount of $400. Every amount given helps our children by resourcing fathers to be the best they can be. DONATE NOW!
Another Dads4Kids donor was so excited by the ads and the good reports we are receiving that he gave three times. Such support is truly humbling! See this man’s email below.
Dear Dads4Kids
I saw your email this morning, saying that you had only raised a fraction of the $25,000 you were looking for the ad campaign. I guess a lot of your supporters are dads with young children for whom every dollar is precious, so it’s hard to raise funds.
Anyway, I dug down into the old sock one more time, and am sending you yet a third contribution.
I do hope you reach your target, but more than that, that you get some really good feedback that makes you feel your efforts have been worthwhile, and that many dads have been re-inspired. I see there is already one comment along those lines on YouTube.
Best Wishes
Laurie
We thought we would feature the Dads4Kids TV advertisement one more time in case you missed it in recent emails.
60 second Dads4Kids advert
The really great news is the Dads4Kids community service ad is getting out there. Besides the TV viewing audience of millions we currently have 1,617 views on YouTube and over 14,176 views on Facebook and they are both still growing rapidly. This is the best start to any ad we have ever done, but it is responses like the one below that really makes all the effort worthwhile. Remember for every comment like this from an independent blog there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of people who have been encouraged that you will never hear from. I rang Robert Burman of the National Thanks Day for permission to share his very personal story about his own father with our readers.
Last night I was watching a TV advertisement by the Dads 4 Kids organisation. It highlighted the importance of a father’s relationship with his children and prompted me to recall my own father’s relationship with us, his kids. My Dad died just on 12 years ago at the age of 88, not long after celebrating 60 years of marriage. Dad was sick for a number of years before he died, and watching the Dads 4 Kids advertisement brought back memories of those last few months of his life.
My wife and I had travelled to Coffs Harbour hospital to visit him where he asked me the question, “I’m not going home this time, am I?” I answered, “No Dad.” A few weeks later he was moved to a nursing home and we returned to visit him. As we were leaving to head back to Sydney I said goodbye to him and I knew this may be the last time I would see my Dad alive. As I left I kissed him on the forehead and said “Love you Dad.” He tried to respond and I could see it on his face but he could not say “I love you.”
Dad never knew love as a kid. His father left the family when Dad was only 5 years old and he grew up on the streets of Newtown. He never had a good role model and got into trouble throughout most of his life. With a childhood like that, is it any wonder he could not say “I love you.” Come to think of it, I don’t remember my Dad ever saying “sorry” and he rarely said “thank you” until the latter years of his life. Yet he had a generous heart.
It has made me stop and think, do I say to my children and grandchildren often enough I Love You and Thank You. The role of a father is so important, and if my Dad had a father who had showed him love and gratitude, what a difference that would have made to his life and to his relationship with his children.
This Father’s Day make sure you say Thank You and I Love You to your Dad. And Dads, make sure you say Thank You and I Love You to your children and grandchildren. You never know what a difference it could make to their lives right now and into the future.
In Proverbs it says “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” What a different life my father would have had if when he was young he’d had a Dad to train him up in the way he should go, someone who appreciated him and expressed to him that appreciation and love.
Lovework
I think Rob’s advice is priceless and applicable all year round so I will simply repeat it for your memory’s sake and mine too. “This Father’s Day make sure you say Thank You and I Love You to your Dad. And Dads, make sure you say Thank You and I Love You to your children and grandchildren. You never know what a difference it could make to their lives right now and into the future.”
Yours for our Children
Warwick Marsh
PS: The Dads4Kids Instagram Photo Competition is celebrating Father’s Day 2016 for the whole month of September and entries have been flooding into our Instagram account. A long time donor of Dads4Kids saw the amazing response of the first Dads4Kids Instagram Photo Competition last year and has put up $1,000 to reward this year’s winner. The mission statement of the Dads4Kids Instagram Photo Competition is to Inspire Fathers and Encourage Families. Watch the video promo here: To enter the competition, you must follow @dads4kids on Instagram and then post your photos to Instagram and hashtag #dads4kids. You can enter as many times as you like up to midnight 30th September 2016.