Kiwanis connect with Boot Camp For New Dads. Education and Support Program for ?Rookie? Dads Launched in South Lake Tahoe
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA August 4, 2004 — Kiwanis connect with Boot Camp For New Dads.
Program Launched in South Lake Tahoe.
Education and Support Program for ?Rookie? Dads Now at Barton Memorial. Boot Camp For New Dads, a non-profit program offered at more than 200 hospitals, clinics, schools and churches across the U.S. has been ?adopted? at Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, CA. The Boot Camp For New Dads program brings “rookie” fathers-to-be together with “veteran” recent dads and their newborns, in an effort to orient and teach parenting skills prior to baby?s birth.
The Kiwanis Sunrisers of South Lake Tahoe, who are dedicated to serving children around the globe, were instrumental in bringing the Boot Camp For New Dads program to Barton Memorial Hospital. The Kiwanis Sunrisers provided the financial support for the Boot Camp program to run at Barton Memorial and two Kiwanis members have been trained by Boot Camp and will serve as program facilitators/coaches.
Boot Camp For New Dads? free program is available to all dads-to-be regardless of cultural, economic or age level. Expectant fathers attend Boot Camp?s three-hour workshop in which a facilitator, along with veteran dads and their infants orient and teach parenting skills to rookie dads. Veteran dads are men who have graduated from the Boot Camp workshop with infants age two to four months and who return as volunteers with their new babies in tow so new dads may interact with them.
?Boot Camp For New Dads fits nicely with the Kiwanis theme of supporting children and young adults in every corner of the globe,? explained Larry Ball, president of Kiwanis Sunrisers and Board member of New Fathers Foundation. He continued, ?Our initiative is to identify and meet the needs of young children through the development of programs in individual communities. In the Boot Camp program, men gain the knowledge and skills needed to increase their confidence to nurture and participate in the care of their babies beginning at birth. It?s a terrific program.?
The Kiwanis organization (www.kiwanis.org), with over 8,000 adult service clubs internationally, provides volunteer and financial support for numerous programs throughout the world.
According to Greg Bishop, founder of Boot Camp For New Dads, Stanford MBA and active Boot Camp coach, ?Boot Camp?s ultimate goal is to prevent child neglect and abuse by building parenting confidence of first-time fathers and preparing them for the challenges of fatherhood so that they remain a strong and constructive force in their children?s lives.?
For more information about the Boot Camp For New Dads program at Barton Memorial Hospital, 2170 South Avenue, South Lake Tahoe, contact (530) 541-3420.
Badge of Honor
?I can’t imagine a more rewarding activity than helping new dads step up to the challenge,” rejoiced Bishop. “These guys are inspiring and should make all men proud, because once they understand how much they are needed, they deliver the goods.?
For more information about Boot Camp programs or to obtain a copy of Boot Camp For New Dads? book, Hit the Ground Crawling: The Ultimate Guide For New Fathers, contact (714) 838-9392 or visit http://www.newdads.com.
Boot Camp Beginnings
Boot Camp For New Dads is a unique program that brings “rookie” fathers-to-be together with “veteran” recent dads and their newborns. Having a child is an awesome gift, and joy, and an immense challenge. Boot Camp For New Dads is helping dads prepare for their mission. A Boot Camp For New Dads session is a single three-hour program often on the first Saturday morning of each month.
Greg Bishop, founder of Boot Camp For New Dads, has had lots of hands-on experience caring for babies, with 12 siblings, 4 children of his own and numerous nieces and nephews. Bishop noticed that many men didn’t seem to enjoy custody of their babies. After extensive research, he founded Boot Camp For New Dads at Irvine Medical Center (CA) in 1990 and has volunteered as Head Coach ever since.
National media, including news segments on ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN as well as articles in Life, CHILD, Ladies Home Journal magazines, Reader?s Digest and others, have helped fuel the expansion of Boot Camp For New Dads to over 200 programs reaching thousands of new dads. The program is designed to bring a dad’s perspective to the 1.5 million men who become fathers each year across America.
Spanish and English
Determined to reach fathers everywhere, Boot Camp For New Dads has 12 Spanish language sites throughout the United States. The organization has created the only curriculum in Spanish for new fathers. Boot Camp For New Dads believes the key to improving the quality of life for many young children lies in helping fathers be capable and caring.
The Spanish version of the Boot Camp video helps support the facilitator and the ?veterano? father in teaching the new dads to take care of the newborn baby and mother.
Roll Call
For more information about Boot Camp For New Dads, please call (714) 838-9392 or visit http://www.newdads.com.
Editors:
To arrange an interview with Greg Bishop, founder of Boot Camp For New Dads, or a coach at a Boot Camp program in your region, please contact Steve Dubin, Drool Sergeant & PR counsel at, sdubin@prworkzone.com, (781) 878-9533.