Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative

As a part of President’s Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative, the Fatherhood Buzz Barbershop Tour is effort to increase awareness responsible fatherhood and parenting through local barbershops. During this inaugural tour, we will be working with barbershops in eight cities (Albany, NY; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and Washington, DC).

What do barbershop partners receive?

Fatherhood Buzz Barbershop Tour will provide an in-person briefing and orientation for selected barbershops using the Barbershop Engagement Toolkit. The toolkit will contain facts, advice, and community resources that barbers can use to promote responsible fatherhood and to serve as a resource to their customers.  Each participating barbershop will also receive:
•    Posters to display in the shop
•    Information to disseminate to clients (hotline information & action steps)
 
Who will be chosen to participate?

With limited funding, the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse created a pilot program by partnering with 100 shops in 8 cities that met the following criteria:

•    Business in good standing
•    Central location
•    Favorable community reputation

NRFC hopes to extend the program to other locations as early as Fall 2012.

Why Barbershops?

Neighborhood barbershops are community hubs for many men that serve far more than their grooming needs. They are a trusted space to discuss personal and public issues, ranging from family to politics, health, money, and other life issues. Visit any barbershop and you will find a rich, intergenerational dialogue among men and boys. This unofficial outlet for peer education provides a unique opportunity to share healthy information about fatherhood and the role of fathers in society.

The Fatherhood Buzz Barbershop Tour is an outreach initiative of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families’ National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC).

Take Time to Be a Dad Today
National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411 •  info@fatherhood.gov • www.fatherhood.gov
 Twitter: @fatherhoodgov • Facebook (fatherhoodgov)