Within the Austin community on the west side of Chicago, fathers are often overlooked as active members of a family. But at Catalyst Circle Rock, they’ve decided to change that narrative.

On Wednesday, September 12th, over 300 men spent the morning at the Catalyst Circle Rock campus for the 4th annual “Dads Take Your Child to School Day” event. At this event, fathers, alongside grandfathers and other important men in their students’ lives, arrived at school at 7:15 in the morning. They formed a line of love and support, as they celebrated the arrival for all of Catalyst Circle Rock’s students. The high fives and hugs brought joy to the students all day. Onlookers on this event even comments on how uplifting it was to see so much joy at school that morning.

After the big student welcome, the men came together in the school’s cafeteria to share a meal together. Also in the group was Romonski Luv, from the v103 radio station, a father of four himself. At this time, the men built a sense of community as they talked about their common and varying experiences of raising children in Chicago.

This series of events have a lasting impression on all who participate, some of whom are already asking about the next one! As said by one of the event organizers, “It’s an opportunity for Austin to see that we have dads and that they matter. They want to be a part of their children’s life…There is lots of love in the community and at this event, students feel so supported. It’s truly an affirmation of the male in the life of the child and the life of a community.”