On June 8th, Main Street Community Foundation’s Men & Boy’s Fund hosted a breakfast celebrating all MVPs (Men of Value and Purpose) and the grantees who have been impacted by the Fund. In particular, two organizations that have been awarded grants from the Fund spoke at the breakfast to share with attendees the work they do to improve the lives of local men and boys.

The Children’s Law Center of CT was awarded a grant to support the legal representation of male children from our communities in family court. CLC's mission is “to promote the best possible outcomes for children and families in transition or crisis by providing access to legal services and support they could not otherwise afford and by advancing collaborative, non-adversarial options for resolving conflicts outside the court system.” Supporting this organization means that they are able to advocate for and focus on the children’s’ behalf during a time when parents may be involved in high-conflict disputes like custody, divorce, and visitation.

Bristol Family Resource Centers were also awarded a grant for their WatchDOGs Program for Dads/Male Guardians. The WatchDOGs (Dads of Great Students) program was established at Greene-Hills School in 2012 and is facilitated by the principal, Scott Gaudet. The program has been consistently well attended, with fathers generally choosing two major events each year to host - an increasingly elaborate haunted house activity for our Halloween celebration, or a father-daughter dance each spring. The WatchDOGs program will integrate the well-respected, evidence-based "24/7 Dads: Key Behaviors" Series of 12 behaviors, relating to 5 Key fatherhood traits, into a series of 10 workshops.

Representatives from both of these organizations were able to present their work at the MVP breakfast event, not only inspiring the attendees with their stories, but further addressing the unmet needs of men and boys in our communities.