Eight years ago today, we met our humble beginnings. DCL President Jeremy McCall and Co-Founder Mark Burke invited Rob Mugford and Andy Askew out for wings and playoff hockey at the now defunct Summerside Wild Wings, and the idea for Dad Club London was formed.
Boy, what a journey it's been
For those wondering, here is the boxscore for the game we were watching.
This fateful meeting led to a remarkable journey. One in where dads came together despite race, social class, sexual preference, religious and political beliefs, and so many other dividers in order to unite on our commonality: wanting to be the best dad for our kids and citizens for our community. What a wild ride we have been on since. Despite starting off with slow beginnings and most recently COVID putting a massive damper on our momentum, we have still managed to hit some pretty lofty milestones.
449 in-person events. 1009.75 hours of live programming. 6,415 dad attendees. 3,490 kid attendees.
This month, we hit another amazing milestone while cycling our own journey to the new beginnings of another.
Dad Club London's Board of Directors became familiar with a new and growing organization called Cliff Gliders.
Cliff Gliders (twitter) (instagram) is a local organization aiming to support the transitions of young persons with disabilities and their caregivers through life and developing independence in teens and young adults.
Cliff Gliders is founded and ran by Madison Bush and Nicole Turner, two young women who met while working at Thames Valley Children's Centre. They have managed to accomplish some remarkable things as differently abled young women, and are looking to lend their experiences, wisdom, and compassion to the London community.
DCL invited Nicole and Madison to attend their May virtual board meeting to share some information on their organization and its mission, and to lend some advice on their own journey from humble beginnings to well oiled self-funded volunteer ran non-profit machine.
What better way to celebrate a birthday and a milestone than by giving back?
Dad Club London was proud to end the presentation by donating $818.94 to Nicole and Madison in support of their journey, as they were currently self-funding their efforts.
This odd amount has put us at the $150,000 mark in living our mission of creating better dads, a stronger community, and a brighter future for our kids. We can't do that for ALL kids without helping to ensure that Madison and Nicole and others in our community that also want to give back and strive for a more inclusive community for all can do so in a way that is feasible and makes sense to them. Through sharing our abundance, we all will thrive. Together.
Happy Birthday, Dad Club London and our members. It's been a beautiful 8 years and we are looking forward to many more special moments and memories together moving forward.
We couldn't do it without you all and your amazing ongoing support.
Cheers!
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