The objective of the Mindful Fathering program is to Support men to become the fathers they want to be. As it happens, this is aligned with the York Pennsylvania YWCA’s Fatherhood Initiative under the umbrella of their Mindfulness Initiative, launched in 2017.
Ruby Martin, Chief Child and Youth Program Officer, at the York Pennsylvania YWCA explains the process that brought them to the decision that Mindful Fathering was the “next level” in parent education, “When we came across Yorktown’s Mindful Fathering program we reached out to Karen Blake, Manager, Community-Based Violence Prevention Programs for information. We were very impressed by the beautiful curriculum and recognized how much time and energy has gone into making this program so stellar. Clearly, great effort has ensuring that it is culturally responsive and thoughtful about the bigger picture of bringing mindfulness to dads.”
After careful and thorough consideration on behalf of stakeholders, York Pennsylvania YWCA purchased the Mindful Fathering program. In October of 2018, Ruby Martin and Youth Program Officer, Christen Coscia, Mindfulness Education Coordinator, flew to Toronto for two days of training. According to Christen, “Our experience with the Yorktown Team was wonderful! We could not have been happier with our training. We felt so welcomed. Our time with the Yorktown Team became more than a training session; it became a unique partnership.”
The YWCA Team also includes Peter Oates, Family Engagement Director and Early Learning Centre Director, who now facilitates the Mindful Fathering program. “As the person who handles the engagement piece at the YWCA, I feel that Mindful Fathering completes the puzzle on how to help dads be awesome. There couldn’t be a better solution. We are looking forward to being able to provide that for our fathers, here, in York,” says Peter, “We can’t wait to get started.”
Yorktown is thrilled to broaden the horizons of the Mindful Fathering program with our YWCA of York Pennsylvania partners as the first team to deliver it in the United States. Ruby, Christen, and Peter have been wonderful to work with! We look forward to continuing our consultations, building our relationship, and being able to work with all of you in the future.
