Dads Make A Difference

I served as a board member with DMAD for 6 years and the organization opened my eyes to issues relating to "younger" parenting issues that I wasn't even aware of. The work of DMAD should be on a national level, and hopefully one day will be. The staff and volunteers do an excellent job teaching parenting issues to youth in an approachable and understanding manner. Personally, this experience changed my perceptions and presented me with values and education to pass onto my own children.

I've been a part of the Dads Made a Difference (DMAD) family now for 17 years. During those 17 years I have filled many roles within the organization including teen trainer, adult trainer, staff, and board member. I moved from Minnesota to Oregon in 2009, which meant I was no longer able to fulfill those roles. What has not changed throughout the long history of the organization is the positive, lifelong impact it makes in young people's lives. The positive youth development model empowers young people to take charge of their own decision making. They become informed on life issues that will impact them at some point in the near future, and then they turn around and share that information with younger peers. In other relationships with young people, other positions I've held, I continue to reference the knowledge gained from teaching and training with DMAD. This program is relevant, necessary and a true investment in young people. I cannot imagine not supporting Dads Make a Difference.

This is a vital and much needed service to our youth & future generations. I have observed and heard many stories of what an impact this program can make. There is a value in programs such as this that touch the whole community.

Dads Make A Difference (DMAD) is a fantastic program and one I'm proud to have been a part of. In my previous position at a community agency, one of my responsibilities was to oversee the implementation of DMAD in the Minnetonka school district. I recruited young people to attend the training to become educators, then observed the delivery of the Dad's curriculum in junior high school classes. Watching the teen educators develop their capabilities over the course of a year or more was pretty incredible. Everyone involved in DMAD, from the educators to the students receiving the curriculum to their teachers, found their experience both enjoyable and valuable!

I have the pleasure of serving on the board of DMAD and truly appreciate the contributions the organization makes to the community. The program and services offered do a great deal to education our young generation and promote healthy choices about relationships. I am honored to be a part of such a wonderful and positively productive organization.

Dads Make a Difference promotes the positive involvement of fathers and educates youth about healthy relationships and responsible parenting. These messages remain as important to young people today as they were when DMAD was started in 1993, some 21 years ago, helping to build the capacity of young people to develop strong future families that can contribute to strong, vibrant communities.

The learning from the training and the opportunity to present the curriculum to younger students were invaluable experiences in the lives of the teen fathers I have worked with over the years. The young men felt very respected, and they became empowered as they had a voice to address an issue that is dearly personal for them!

Dads Make a Difference training for my Future Educators has been a great compliment to our program at Como Park Senior High School. It contains valuable lessons for our student/trainers, and for the young people they will go out to teach it to.

There is nothing as important as helping young adults make good decisions in their teens so that they have more opportunities with their futures. The education DMAD provides helps young adults form healthy relationships and promotes delaying becoming parents too soon by providing information about the challenges of parenting. It is realistic in its approach and inclusive in its definition of family and comprehensive by providing more than just sex education but also teaching decision making skills.

Dads Make a Difference is an amazing program that works with the community to build better relationships between fathers and their children; educate youth on what it takes to be a responsible parent and the benefits of having an active father. This program builds better parents of the future and helps facilitate better relationships within the family unit.

A former board member for 6 years, I witnessed first hand the impact this program had on teens and the education that is so badly needed for youth. I continue to contribute as a donor as I firmly believe in the education it represents and hope this education will become a part of every teens education in the future. Wish this education was available to me as a youth!!

DMAD has research to prove that it creates long-term attitude and behavior chang among teens in preventing too early pregnancy and parenthood.

It has successfully trained about 8,000 students in its 21 years of existance and it has created an in demand cirriculum.

This agency really delivers results.

I have been a donor to Dad's Make a Difference because I believe in this great organization and the work it does. Everyone involved is passionate about their cause and it shows in the difference they make in the community. Young people's lives are touched in a way that empowers them to find their voice and make a difference in the lives of others.

I have been volunteering for Dads Make A Difference for about 6 years now, and LOVE the program. I myself was a high schooler who attended my DMAD training and absolutely loved going into my local middle schools and teaching the curriculum. So much so that I reached out to Jan about becoming an adult trainer once I began college. She graciously accepted my offer, and I have greatly enjoyed working with Jan and the other trainers ever since. Jan is kind, courteous, and has a deep passion for this cause that is near and dear to her heart. It is my belief that learning the responsibilities of parenting is a key element to a person's overall success and is important to learn at an early age. Not only do children obtain a deeper level of respect for what their parents do for them, but they also begin to develop values that they will carry with them throughout life and into parenting years of their own. The curriculum is diverse, fun, and most importantly; open to all ideas, opinions, and personal stories. I know I do not only speak for myself when I say that Dads Make A Difference is a learning experience that one carries in their heart for a lifetime.

I recently attended an anniversary celebration for Dads Make a Difference (DMAD) and the testimonials from past participants, trainers, health educators, Minnesota State Department of Human Services, community nonprofit leaders, sexuality education professionals, youth workers, teachers--a range of folks involved in the organization's long history--gave further evidence of the power of this youth development organization and its curriculum to positively enhance the healthy development of Minnesota youth. It is a peer education program that has effectively educated youth about healthy relationships, sexual decision making and the important role of fathers for many years. We need to ensure that it continues to evolve in ways that allow it to educate and influence future generations of Minnesota youth.

Dads Make a Difference meets a definite need and utilizes a proven curriculum model based on research for training and outreach. Past participants become some of the staff when training is done again. A great, proven model that makes a difference in the lives of young Dads and ultimately, their child/ren.

My daughter took the Dads Makes a Difference training back when she was in high school and she became a participant at Como High School to inform others! DMAD training provided insight for my daughter who had an absent father to give her some hope and understanding around the importance of dads. Being a board member was easy because I have seen the personal value of the vision and mission of this organization's impact on my family! Great work!

Dads Make A Difference - made a difference in my life. I participated in the Dada Make A Difference program in 1996 as a professional in the field. I was professionally impressed and personally touch by the curriculum so much I became a trainer for the program. After training over 800 participants during my tenure, I was blessed to see up close and personal the impact Dads Make A Difference has made in the lives of young women and especially young men. This program continuously makes strategic and intentional efforts to remain relevant. In addition, the capabilty to also be interculturally competent in its language and delivery of sensitive content is no small feat. Please join me in financially supporting Dads Make A Difference so it remains a timeless pillar in our community and beyond.

DMAD has been a part of my journey from teenhood to adulthood. I first met the founder of Dads, Jan Hayne, six years ago. I could immediately sense her passion as she told her story, and shared the mission of this amazing non-profit. The curriculum is timeless and yet fresh, traditional and yet innovative, and consistent year after year in core values, life lessons, and practical applications. It is a privilege to work with such amazing people who share Jan's mission of responsible parenting and the importance of relationship building. Students learn it, love it, and share it with their peers, family and friends, and in the digital world we live in, the positive energy Jan brings to her students is shared across the nation.

Dads Make a Difference is a program that changes lives. This curriculum not only helps young people make healthy decisions to plan for their futures but it also builds leadership skills and protective factors for young people who are struggling or facing challenges in their own lives. It creates a ripple effect that touches so many people and continues to impact young people in middle school, high school and beyond. It helps create a fuller picture of parenthood particularly for children born to young and/or single parents. It helps build community among trainers, peer educators, their students and staff that weaves a thread of hope and resilience for all young people.

A fantastic non profit organization that maximizes its resources to deliver exceptional services that benefit so many.

DMAD brings much needed content and learning to today's youth. No other nonprofit serves such a diverse group of teens. Without this program, many of our younger adults would be in a much different place personally, professionally and mentally.

Dads Make a Difference focuses on a market/community that we need to focus on more critically. Our children need to understand the role of fathers, and their role in their children's lives. DMAD helps teenagers get a better understanding of the necessity for healthy, continued father/child relationships. With this increased education, our communities and family structure are enriched - building better better communities.

Since 1991, I have worked as a clinical social worker in the Twin Cities, and among many other things, have coordinated programs that serve young and older fathers in the lives of children. I began work with DMAD in 1993 as a curriculum trainer because I was amazed to see such a progressive and creative approach to serving our youth. Since my first training with the DMAD family, I have been deeply moved by the power of this curriculum, and touched by the warm and personable staff that gather (like groupies to the band they love). My eldest son, NIcco was very soon to be born in Early February of 2001. We had a DMAD training, and I clearly remember, standing on a stage (post training) in St. Paul, waiting for our DMAD team picture to be taken. I had my cell phone on... waiting for a call from my then-wife to say something like: "get your butt home, our baby is on his way!" The DMAD non-profit is rare, dignified, and extremely progressive. Our world needs more dedicated and creative efforts put forth toward the underserved youth and family members in our world. Healthy male involvement is a hall mark of an evolved society. I heartily salute the Dad's Make A Difference program and all those who have the brilliant conviction and audacious courage to stand with it!

- Jeffry Jeanetta-Wark, MA. LICSW
Lead clinician and owner of the Center for Integrated Well-Being, Inc.

I have been aware of DMAD for more than 10 years. First as a colleague, then a trainer, and finally as a board member. I was always impressed with the committment and loyalty of those who were involved in the program. This program does make a difference in the lives of those they touch. I support them as a valued community partner.

My experience with this program has influenced many life changing events for me. It helped my gain confidence in my teenage years, learn leadership skills and it influenced choices I made. After being a teen trainer teaching middle school students that's what I decided to do for a career. Most importantly it helped me choose an amazing dad for my two children.

How we form families is changing. The traditions of marriage, children and death till we part no longer represent the experience of many mothers, fathers and children. But the need for parents who are involved in the lives of their children remains critical. Dads Make a Difference provides a way for young people - both male and female - to consider this important need - from their perspective as a young person and also for the future family they will form. Through a youth teaching youth model, this critical conversation happens in the classroom and through youth serving programs. DMAD is an excellent example of prevention at it's best.

For the teen teachers Dads Make A Difference is the ultimate youth development experience. Not only do they gain personnal insights into the value of involved fathers but they demonstrate skills as effective educators and and leaders for younger students. I continue to be proud of these dynamic and dedicated youth.

Want to work with a program with a mission purely to serve youth; utlitizing a youth teaching youth model? You are at the write place. Dads Make a Difference was a seed in the early 90s but it was rooted itself in the hearts and minds of those lucky to have participated in the program. It's research-based, interactive, and asks youth to plan for their future. Absolutely fabulous.

I have been an advisor to the development and implementation of the program since its inception. Dads Make a Difference has been a critically important innovation to address the issue of parenting too soon and father involvement in Minnesota. It has played a seminal role in creating dialogue with youth about parenting, mentorship and positive peer advocacy that has contributed to why teen parentage has declined over the last several years thus creating positive futures and eliminating barriers to education and employment for thousands of Minnesota youth..

Dads Make a Difference is an excellent program. I have had two groups of my high school Future Educators trained with Dads Make a Difference. The training is great fun for the students and very valuable. They were so excited to go out to teach to the junior high! I am very impressed with the Dads Make a Difference curriculum.

I was involved with Dads Make a Difference from the beginning as the first staff person and stayed involved for 9 years. Currently I am an annual donor. I witnessed first hand during my involvement the impact learning about responsible fatherhood had on teens and young adults. As a professional still working in the field of teen pregnancy prevention, there is often little focus on males and fathers. I don't know of any other organization and curriculum in Minnesota that educates about Paternity Establishment as DMAD does. I am proud that DMAD has sustained itself for almost 20 years

I was fortunate enough to see two sets of youth in training sessions. They were being taught priceless life lessons that you do not get in school. The questions they asked reflected that they were very attentive and absorbing the concepts taught. Every child needs to go through this course. The course provides valuable insight into making good life choices. Thanks. Bob Jackson, Hennepin County Child Support

During the 2012 election campaigning, there was a strong focus on women's health, access to birth control and relationships. I participated in several debates with loved ones, co-workers, friends and community members in regards to these issues and often found myself frustrated by the lack of focus on prevention. I found myself wishing for more programming like Dads Make a Difference to engage our young people in conversations about what constitutes healthy relationships, what aspects of life emotionally, financially and physically are so important to have in place before bringing a child into the world and how to make informed, planned decisions around beginning families so those children and their communities are stronger and healthier as an end result. Dads Make a Difference celebrates all families who are raising children in today's society and focuses on personal choice and control in relationships and parenting. I fully believe if there were more options for Dads Make a Difference to be consistently taught in all high schools and middle schools there would be a reduction in teen parenting, young people accessing or needing welfare and divorces as well as an increase in high school graduation rates, effective co-parenting amongst parents and healthier children. Dads Make a Difference is a program that has demonstrated effectiveness through evaluation and years of positively impacting anyone who participates and I will continue to support this program as it moves forward.

WOW, this is awesome! I started with DMAD as one of the 1st teen trainees in April of 1994 then became a teen and adult trainer shortly after I trained my first few lessons. I can truely say that this program helped affirm and direct my life not only personaly but professionaly as well. Being married and a father of two wonderfull boys I can look back at the lesson that I learned from DMAD that help shape the husband and father that I wanted to be. (you have to ask them how I'm doing LOL) I am now the Director of Recruiting and Training for a large national company where I utilize some of the same teaching techniques I've learned over the years by being a trainer with DMAD. I can't believe it's been almost 20 years! Through this program I havr been able to work with exceptional people and have some of the most memorable experiences. Road trips with Gary and Jan, snoring...I mean dancing competitions with "D", training with Angie in Boston...(Lois hit me up some time LOL). I even had the pleasure of playing piano and accompany a world class thespian, Mr. T Michael Rambo with Vant on the harmonica! And with that I must end this review with a quote from the DMAD Theme Song: "You got to be there, DADS make a difference, show somebody you care!"

I have been involved with Dads Make a Difference since 2000. I coordinated a group of teens who were trained to teach the curriculum to middle schoolers. Many of the teen peer educators had life-changing experiences as a result of participating in this program - one became a teacher, one re-connected with a father who had not been a regular part of his life, and several talked about how what kind of parent they wanted to be. DMAD is a unique program that works to build on the strengths of youth, and truly values their experiences and contributions.

I have been involved with DMAD since 2002 when I went through the program myself as a teen. I then began to teach in the community and eventually became a trainer and continue to train today. I joined the board last year because I am extremely passionate about the work that this program does. I feel that it shaped my life personally and helped me to become a good role model as a student and now an informal mentor to teens. I am a social worker by day and really teel that this program has helped me down this career path as well. I am grateful for my experiences in this program as a teen and beyond and am happy that others have the opportunities to be part of this life-changing program as well!!

As a former teacher and as a member of the staff of the Massachusetts Child Support Enforcement Division, I was so impressed with the Dads Make a Difference program that I replicated it for use with young people in Massachusetts. I had been involved in child support cases with teens who did not realize the financial obligations that they would have once they became parents. The Dads Make a Difference program educates young people about all the responsibilities that parents have and makes a compelling case for why it is better to defer parenthood until they are ready to meet these obligations. The model of older teens presenting the curriculum to middle school youth is very effective, as the younger students look up to the older teens and are more likely to listen to the messages. The Dads Make a Difference program is an excellent source of information that young people need to know and they hear it in a way that is effective. I can't say enough about this wonderful program!

Dads Make a Difference (DMAD) is a fantastic program that I've had the good fortune of working with over a three year period. I acted as an intermdediary between the high school age teachers, the middle schools, and Dads itself. I attended several top notch trainings and watched the development of the high school facilitators as teachers and role models. It was also a real pleasure to watch the seventh graders and their reaction to and interaction with the curriculum. Dads Make a Difference is an irreplaceable program and a true asset to our kids and communities.

I recommend this program to all high School and Middle schools. My students have been involved in DMAD over the past 15 years and this program had help them build a better relationship with there father. Older teens can be effective role models for younger youth becasue they are closer in age and experience. WE NEED THIS PROGRAM

DMAD is a awesome program for youth and adults, the work over the 12 plus years I have trained for them has been very informative for the youth and the adults that attend the training with them. Two of my four children have gone through the training. Great asset to are youth as it gives them information that will last a lifetime.

My students have been involved over the past 5 years and it has taught my students so much as well as the middle school students. I can't say enough for this program and for Jan Hayne and all the work she does. I recommend this program highly to anyone who would dare to be involved.Darci Cyr, Eagan High School Educator

I have been having our students from the Alternative school teach Dads make a Difference for several years now. I get students trained, and they teach it in our Health Class. Having our students teach how important fathers are in childrens life, makes a much better impact on others. The student teachers share their stories which makes the class more interesting. I am very happy to have had this opportunity to have this curriculum in our school. thanks. caroline Unke

I have been working with DMAD since 1998-first as a student trainer, then as a college intern and lastly as an adult trainer. The information I have learned through my experiences with DMAD I use in all the other facets of my life. My relationships with family and friends have improved due to the knowledge gained and taught in DMAD as well as helping me become a better social worker. I have seen hundreds of high schoolers go through this program, enjoy it and learn a lot about themselves and what they want for their future. The information provided by this curriculum is more important than ever before and will assist teenagers in making healthy, positive choices.

I was trained into the program in 1996 as a sophmore in high school. The program help me personally and helped clarify my feelings for my own situation. I had a complicated relationship with my father and this program helped me resolve alot of the issues I had in my own life. I enjoyed teaching in the middle schools as well as participated as a trainer for DMAD. This program has so much "heart". The experinces I have had with DMAD are priceless!

I was introduced to DMAD in 2002. I was still a high school student, who had very loose ties to my father. I spent a lot of time in the following years volunteering with DMAD and teaching the progam to middle shcool students. Through seeing the stories of others, I was given the courage to strengthen my relationship with my own father. since 2004, I my relationship with my father has become just as strong as anyone else's. I think DMAD has a great effect on other people like me. It is a 5 Star Organization without question. Those who serve on the board, and those who founded the program have HUGE hearts.

I have been involved in DMAD for at least the past 10 years. I love that it is peer-taught and the students really respond to the curriculum. Jan Hayne does a nice job of setting up the trainings and the curriculum is kept up to date and relevant to the age group. The communication has been wonderful and professional. The students deserve to have this presented to them.

Dads Make a Difference is a unique program in which participants can literally grow up in the program. They start as middle school participants and can become trainers. The team that teaches the curriculum is like a family and provides great roll modeling to high school participants who in turn role model to middle schoolers it should be a required curriculum in the state.

I was introduced to DMAD back in 1997 while working as a Teen Parent Teacher for an ALC in St. Paul. I felt really good about bringing my students (both parents and others interested) to these trainings! It was a very thoughtful, researched-based approach to positive youth development and also I felt the excitement of watching my students in their cross-age teaching of Junior high school students! I would highly recommend any schools or organizations interested in helping support the youth to bring teens to a training or have them come teach in your Junior High School. Students take these topics very seriously and are eager for guidance & direction from all of us caring & encouraging adults in their lives!

I got involved in this program as a high school student and then went on to teach middle school students the Dads Make a Difference curriculum. Shortly, after I also became a trainer and continue to train when I can. This is an amazing program that I feel so lucky to be a part of because it has impacted myself and my life in so many ways and so many other people as well. Now a mother of two, I realize even more now how important it is to get out this message to youth about making responsisble choices. It helped me, and every child deserves to have the best their parents can offer.

I started volunteering with DMAD when I was 15 years old back back in November of 2002. I was a you man who had no idea who his father was. After two years of learning/teaching the DMAD curriculum, I was encouraged enough to seek out my own father and ever since, I have had a great relationship with my father. I believe that if it weren't for DMAD, there is no way that I would have such a great relationship with the father's half of my family. nearly 8 years later, I am still very grateful for DMAD. Hopefully it is touching other young people the way that it touched me.

Dads make a Difference is a small but effective not for profit that truly serves a great purpose. They focus not only on the importance of dads but beyond that they focus on the importance of being an active parent. The power of the activities is its focus on education of young adults on the importance of active parents. This helps shape young adults decision making about when to become a parent and all the responsbility it entails.

DMAD is a very important part of my life. I was trained in 1994 as a student, after being inspired by the all of the positive aspects of the program I was asked to be a trainer. I have worked with DMAD since 1995 educating hundreds of young people about the imporatance of fater's in children's lives. I have seen the impact that it has made on young people and their choices about becoming a parent to young or being a better parent if they already had children. I have had students come up to me after the traning to let me know what a difference the program made in their lives. I would love to see the program continue and grow so it can reach even more young people who certainly need all the support and direction they can get in this difficult world we currently live in.

I have done the "Dads Make a Difference " Curriculum for many years now and I really think the information is currect, gets the students involved, and the students enjoy it as well.

I have seen first-hand, many times over the excellent impact that Dads Make a Difference has in the lives of youth in Minnesota. The program brings into discussion difficult topics that can be dismissed in schools and families that are integral to the positive personal growth in young people. The curriculum is not static--it grows and changes with current issues, and the people involved are passionate and committed to its success.

The students were able to see things in a different perspective and they learned a lot. I also learned a lot and it has helped me become better at what I do as well.

I am impressed with Dads make a Difference focus on teaching youth that fathers play an important role in their children lives. Also teaching the importance of delaying parenting until one is emotionally and financially ready.

The experience teaching in the classrooms were like no other experience to date. Middle school and highschool students are more receptive to learning from their peers or aspiring peers moreso then learning from teachers. THe message resinates far easier this way.