Dads Matter Too goes international

Well, one copy of the film has gone to California, and two have gone to Scotland! Copies have also gone to Brighton, Bury, London, Mansfield, Northampton, Sittingbourne and York as well as several towns in Wiltshire, including Chippenham, Malmesbury, Salisbury, Swindon and Trowbridge. Among the agencies and professionals obtaining copies are Children's Centres, Family Resource Centres, FE Colleges, film companies, Health Visitors, Midwives, Mother and Baby Units, YOT workers and Youth Development Services. So it looks as if our hopes for the film are being realised.

We're up for an award!

Asha, our contact from The Prince's Trust, was sufficiently impressed by the film when she saw it at the launch that she is nominating us for a Community Impact Award. None of us quite knows what this is but it sounds pretty good. So we've had to write lots of stuff about the film and the effect it's having. We're not sure how long it'll be before we hear anything, so please keep reading this blog.

We're now a school!!

A reporter from Love it! magazine contacted us as a result of reading about the film. She was interested in the young dads-to-be course rather than the film itself, and interviewed Chris, Marcus and Mike. It's always a bit of a gamble when you talk to journalists. Chris wondered where some of his quotes came from, and a School For Teen Dads is an interesting spin on the course. However we shouldn't complain because it's the first time that anything has been written about the course and, as it's the foundation of all the work we do with the dads, it's good to see it written about in such a positive way.

Michael Wills does us proud

A week ago Michael Wills devoted his column in the Swindon Advertiser to the launch of Dads Matter Too. Michael found the film moving, and said that "watching the film and talking to the makers afterwards of it afterwards, it wasn't only their commitment and sense of responsibility that shone through, it was also the pride and joy they felt in their new families and in what they were doing. It was an uplifting occasion. I felt that everyone who has ever grumbled about young people today should have been there."

Hurray! 9 Bronze Arts Awards Today!

Well Done! Congratulations to Steven, Markus, Den, Marcus, Brett, JJ, Lisa, April & Charlotte who have all passed their Bronze Arts Award.
Four parents represented the group at the moderation today, with Jackie as Arts Award Adviser and Mike doing the behind-the-scenes co-ordination and taxiing.
The moderator commented on the 'brilliant project' and 'well put together portfolios' and urged us to find funding to continue, encouraging the group to go for silver...