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Contact: Vincent DiCaro, 301-948-0599
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2007
NATIONAL FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE LAUNCHES DOUBLE DUTY DAD™ MENTORING PROGRAM WITH AOL’S TED LEONSIS AND ALMA POWELL
CAPITOL HILL EVENT SHOWCASES U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER BOND AND CONGRESSMAN DENNIS CARDOZA
(Washington, DC) – Today, National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), the nation’s largest fatherhood organization, launched its new Double Duty Dad™ mentoring initiative, a program designed to inspire America’s fathers to become mentors to children from father-absent homes. At the event, AOL vice chairman Ted Leonsis and Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) were honored as the first honorary Double Duty Dads for their longstanding work on behalf of children and mentoring. America’s Promise chair Alma Powell (wife of former Secretary of State Colin Powell), Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO), Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Thomas Atwood, president and CEO of the National Council for Adoption, spoke in support of the program. 
Roland Warren, president of NFI, said of the event, “Double Duty Dad™ is a unique new mentoring initiative that answers the question, ‘Who better to mentor our nation’s fatherless children than our nation’s good fathers?’ With the help of esteemed individuals such as Ted Leonsis and Alma Powell, and the support of Senator Christopher Bond and Congressman Dennis Cardoza, NFI is thrilled to launch a mentoring initiative that will provide countless children with father-mentors at a time when father absence is tearing too many communities apart.” 
The Double Duty Dad™ initiative was designed by NFI to motivate and equip fathers to look within their own circle of influence – their neighbors, their workplace, their place of worship – for children in need of a father’s care. To give the program national reach, NFI and America’s Promise will work with established mentoring organizations to provide fathers with several options to find children in need of a mentor. National Fatherhood Initiative also released Father Facts, Fifth Edition, a 180-page compilation of the research on the negative consequences of father absence and the positive impact of father involvement. The research in Father Facts serves as a reminder for the importance of supporting children from father-absent homes, as they are more likely to do poorly in school, engage in delinquency and drug abuse, and have emotional and behavioral problems than children with involved fathers.
Left to Right: Ted Leonsis, Alma Powell, Roland Warren, Dennis Cardoza, Thomas Atwood
To schedule interviews with any of the participating principals, please contact Vincent DiCaro at 301-948-0599 (vdicaro@fatherhood.org) or Monty Warner at 202-369-2902 (montywarner@gmail.com).
The premier fatherhood renewal organization in the country, National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) works in every sector and at every level of society to engage fathers in the lives of their children. NFI's national public service advertising campaign promoting fatherhood has generated television, radio, print, Internet, and outdoor advertising valued at over $487 million. Through its resource center, FatherSOURCE, NFI offers a wide range of innovative resources to assist fathers and organizations interested in reaching and supporting fathers.
