DADS and MOMS of Michigan eNewsletter
May 2007
We thank you for all of your support this year. We had a wonderful 2007 so far, expanding programs and our outreach. We completed planning to expand the DADS and MOMS University. Among many activities, we conducted the awards banquet, public awareness programs, and Legislative forum so far. We are planning a Fathers Day Picnic on June 16, supporting a Rally in Washington, DC on August 18, Dream Cruise booth in August, and Family Conference in January 2008.
We are looking for more Moms, Stepparents, Grandparents, and Dads this next year to help be a mentor and grow the programs. Volunteer and make a commitment today.
Dads and Moms of Michigan has strengthened its focus on education to expand education programs around the state. For information and to help, call 248-559-DADS (3237).
Sign up for our eNewsletter at www.dadsofmichigan.org
Dads and Moms University Presents
Dads and Moms of Michigan University (DMU) has planned a series of programs for 2007. We have launched parent education programs the 2nd Tuesday of each month. We are expanding resources for Dads, Moms, Stepparents, and Grandparents, and in the Moms of Michigan and Parenting forums to provide more resources for both Parents.
DADS OF MICHIGAN FAMILY FORUM
TUES June 5
BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY HOUSE,
380 S BATES, BIRMINGHAM,MI 48009
7:00 - 7:30pm: DADS presentation
7:30-8:30pm:Guest Speaker
8:30-9:30pm: LEGAL ROUNDTABLE
For information, call 248-559 DADS (3237)
Education Seminars - (2nd Tuesday of each month from 7:00 - 9:00 pm)
Tuesday June 12
Immanuel Lutheran Church and School
47120 Romeo Plank Road
Macomb, Michigan 48044
Father's Day Picnic
| WHEN: |
Saturday, June 16
12 noon – 5 pm |
| WHERE: |
Wiegand Park in Warren, MI
8-1/2 Mile btw. Hoover & Van Dyke
(at Toepher Rd. & MacArthur Blvd.) |
| COST: |
$5 per adult; $1 for 18 & under |
RSVP at 248-559-3237, or just come
This event is for the whole family!
Parents & Children
Grandparents & Grandchildren
Mentors & Mentees
Single Parents and Married Couples
Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends
We ask that you bring your favorite dish
Contact us if you have questions and/or to let us know you’re coming:
Tom FitzPatrick or Lyssa Wingfield:
248-414-4050
Dave Jacobs: windsordetroit@mkp.org
The whole family is invited because we have some great fun!
Join us in the park for:
- Food & Fun
- Games for Parents & Kids
- volleyball, badminton, frisbee, races, and more
- Honoring Ceremony for Dads, Moms, and kids
Are you a super Dad, Mom, or kid (send us your write up)
Burgers & other grill-friendly food, plus non-alcoholic beverages, provided
I'm very proud to announce a special Fathers Day w/e event in South East Michigan - our Annual Celebrating Fathers Festival! This will be Sat, June 16 (the day before Fathers Day) at Weigand Park in Warren, MI.
This is shaping up to be a fun day at the park that the entire family can participate in. We'll have food & fun, games & music, plus a special Honoring Ceremony for dads. This event is for everyone - parents, grandparents, mentors, sons, daughters, relatives, friends. It's both for families and for those who just want to come by themselves to share in the fun and joy of the festival.
This is also a great opportunity to invite friends & family that you want to introduce to MKP -- they'll get a chance to play & socialize with us, plus they will see how we can bring blessing, sacredness, and joy into people's lives & families. We will also have brochures and other promotional materials they can take home.
And all this at an incredibly affordable price - a family of 5 can celebrate together for as little as $13. The admission fee is to cover costs of the pavillion rental and food; this is not intended as a fundraiser for anyone. So for families looking for a special way to celebrate Fathers Day, this could be a truly wonderful & value-packed way to go.
Please share the flyer, below, with everyone you wish to invite - men and women. We have room for 150 people under the pavillion (plus plenty more space throughout the park), and I'd love to see us share the day with as many friends & families as possible
I want to acknowledge and give tremendous thanks to Tom FitzPatrick for being a primary driving force behind the creation of this event. I also want to thank Michael Eberhard, Tim Batdorf, John Sames, Michael Erickson, Ray Perry, and Peter Putnam (from MKP) and James Semerad and Kevin O'Shea (from Partnership for Dads and Dads & Moms of Michigan) for helping in some of our planning and publicizing.
Contact me if you want to attend and/or to help with the event. I hope to see you there on June 16!!
Dave Jacobs
Centre Director for MKP-W/D
4836 Woodland Ave. #102
Royal Oak, MI 48073
248-981-3188 (cell)
dsjacobscat@hotmail.com
Bike Marathon to Washington, DC, August 11 and 18
http://daddy.typepad.com/daddyblog/2007/04/robert_and_rob_.html
Robb MacKenzie and Robert Pederson are treking from Lansing, MI to Washington, DC to arrive in Washington on August 18. Be there!!! This story is picking up steam and we need your help. The purpose of the Equal Parenting Bike Trek is to focus on the parenting attitude in U.S. Courts and family services, Department of Health and Human Services, government intervention into family, and government run family. The Lansing launch on August 11 will lead to add excitement to the Washington, D.C. Rally on August 18. http://www.dcrally2007.com/
Welcome to the DCRally
AUGUST 18, 2007 http://www.dcrally2007.com/
We meet in Washington DC , to peacefully exercise our first amendment right to assemble and to respectfully petition our government for a redress of grievances. Our grievances relate to governmental interference with and the destruction of our nation's family structure. DCRally 2007 will take place at the historic site of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
DCRally2007 commemorates the 44th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. DCRally2007 is the extension of the Civil Rights Movement. DCRally2007 addresses the state's failure to recognize and protect our Fundamental Rights. It's time for our Federal Congress to recognize and protect our Fundamental Rights.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because the states condone and allow the abduction of children from their homes and the placing of children into the adoption market. The states have opened this door and allow illegal step-parent adoptions without the knowledge and/or consent of fit and loving parents. This outrage is breaking the hearts of good, fit, loving parents and America's children.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because the states under the color of law utilize destructive and unnecessarily punitive methods for child support collection and refuse to adopt shared parenting legislation for fit and loving parents. Children are alienated from loving and fit parents. The net result is a squandering of precious federal and state tax revenue, hostile and dysfunctional men and women who have contempt for the system and children who exhibit every social ill imaginable.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because the states in fact, profit financially from the child support collection procedures they implement. Hence, states have an incentive to maintain an adversarial environment and a ‘winner take all' agenda whereby one party is empowered and one party is disenfranchised and forced to pay into the state's collection mechanism. The states are manufacturing ‘dead beats' and are turning fit and loving parents into felons often times making it impossible to gain meaningful employment.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because the states while ignoring Fundamental Rights are wrongfully affecting corporate America and costing America untold billions of dollars annually in lost productivity. Anxiety, depression, anger, pre-occupation, physical illness, absenteeism, and much more are the result of the policies and procedures utilized by the states and the result is dysfunctional citizens, less product and higher prices.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because the states are destroying families and relationships and allowing their respective state agencies to medicate our children senselessly without regard for long-term effects and without the permission of fit and loving parents.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because the states have usurped the parental responsibility to discipline children and inculcate moral values. The result is parents are wrongfully punished. Children are drugged, running out of control and becoming self-destructive. Our society as a whole is suffering.
DCRally2007 is coming to Washington DC; because when paternity fraud takes place, the states refuse to recognize it as fraud, continue to collect child support from parents with no biological connection to a child and further refuse to spend the necessary time and resources to locate the biological parent.
DADs Conference, January 2008
We are working with Partnership For Dads to launch the Fathers Conference on January 28, 2008 in Farmington Hills, MI. Stay tuned for details. Larry Herron from Dads and Moms University and Jim Semerad from Dads of Michigan PAC serve on this esteemed committee. We are expecting 400+ Dads for this event. More will follow.
Family Rights, DV Reform Across The Nation
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/02/23/family-rights-dv-reform-across-the-nation/
Metro Parent – Subscribe and Pick up today
http://www.metroparent.com/
Can cell phones help you keep track of your teen?
Imagine being able to track exactly where your teen or tween is at the touch of a button. Various cell phone companies are trying to make that request a reality.
Sprint, Nextel and Verizon are introducing Global Positioning System (GPS) data that allows parents to track the whereabouts of their children through their cell phones and the Internet. But there’s a catch: The child’s cell phone must be turned on for the service to work. http://www.metroparent.com/articles/archives/child_dev/cd_augteenstweens.html
Do You Know a Hero Dad?
As Father’s Day approaches, many of us begin to ponder fatherhood. What kind of dad am I? What kind of dad did I have? What kind of dad is my neighbor? As we ask ourselves these questions, we are sure to think about a dad who does it all. He provides for his children. He nurtures them. He guides them. He balances work and family. He gives back to his community. Men like these are the real heroes who deserve celebration. They are Hero Dads. For me, a Naval Officer, it is also my kids and Moms left behind. It is hard to leave my family.
If you think you may be a Hero Dad, or you know someone who is, then National Fatherhood Initiative, Best Life magazine, and MSN want to know about it.
By visiting http://www.bestlifeonline.com/herodadcontest/, you can enter yourself or someone you know into the Hero Dad contest. The Grand Prize is the ultimate family vacation for four at the exclusive Greenbrier resort (www.greenbrier.com). The winner will be photographed and featured in the pages of Best Life magazine and online at www.bestlifeonline.com. The Hero Dad’s story and photos will be featured on National Fatherhood Initiative's website and MSN.com.
Head over to bestlifeonline.com/herodadcontest today to submit your entry! Make this Father’s Day special for America’s Hero Dad!
MOMS Voice - Step Moms
Family Traditions, New and Old
An excerpt from 29 Ways to Make Your Stepfamily Work
By Kelly Kirkendoll Shafer
When you create a stepfamily, it’s important to honor the traditions the family members hold dear. It’s equally important to create new ones. Be realistic, though. It takes time to create traditions your stepfamily will claim as their own.
Many children of divorce perceive birthdays and the winter holiday season as the only benefit of their parents’ breakup – it means double the fun, double the presents. To others, the double duty is overwhelming or the shadow of times past darkens any celebration.
Maybe your child would prefer a birthday party at a public place, where birth parents and stepparents can all attend. If relations are too tense between the birth parents, you may want to opt for separate celebrations. But beware – many children find it too overwhelming to have them both on the same day. Figure out what works best for your children.
http://www.momsvoice.com/pages/articles/family_traditions.html
Step Parenting As A Stepcouple
Step Parenting As A Stepcouple:
An Interview with Susan Wisdom
By: Elizabeth Ross
The statistics are bleak for couples that remarry with children, standing at over 60 percent, but in spite of this, there is hope offered through some down-to-earth advice from Susan Wisdom, author of Stepcoupling (Three Rivers Press, March 2002). Wisdom, a therapist specialized in counseling divorcing adults and stepfamilies and a member of a successful stepcouple for the past 28 years, offers advice to couples taking the courageous leap into the world of stepfamilies.
http://www.momsvoice.com/pages/articles/step_couple.html
DADS Merchandise
http://www.dadsofmichigan.org/merchandise.html
Consider ordering some DADS merchandise for your favorite DAD this holiday season. Soon we will be adding MOMS merchandise. Sorry Moms, Stepparents and Grandparents, you are as important.
Fax 248-559-5427
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I will give Dads and Moms of Michigan through The Village Secretary 30 days written notice to cancel the use of my credit card for this purpose.
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Credit Card Number Expiration Date: __________________________________
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News From the Front: Finding the right lawyer
On September 1, 2005, Jason met with a highly-recommended domestic violence lawyer in Loveland. This attorney advised Jason from the beginning not to take his case to trial. He claimed that Loveland was such a conservative town that the majority of domestic violence cases that went before a jury resulted in a conviction simply because of the nature of the crime. Her word against his was nearly all it took in most cases. Because the prosecutor claimed there were pictures of bruises, Jason was told he had little to no chance of winning even before he saw the "evidence." He also told Jason that if he was convicted it would be on his record permanently. But this incompetent shyster didn't mention that a plea bargain is a conviction and would remain on Jason's record permanently as well. Nor was Jason told that a guilty plea would prevent him from being the custodial parent of his sons.
It took this attorney nearly 7 months after requesting copies of the pictures prosecutors claimed showed bruises on his wife to finally obtain them. In the interim Jason still hadn't been arraigned, and thus his right to a speedy trial was circumvented. Once they did receive the pictures, no bruises were visible except one very light mark on her forearm. Of course there are any number of explanations as to why someone might have a mark on their arm and the pictures were apparently not taken until 3 days after she claimed she was assaulted. Any reasonably competent criminal defense attorney should have been able to discredit such "evidence."
Despite the weakness of the evidence against him, the attorney told Jason again that his best option was to plead guilty and plea bargain for a deferred sentence. Jason was told that if he had no further incidents the DV charge would be dropped and, for a fee, his record could be sealed. This attorney's misrepresentation is typical of unscrupulous attorneys who take clients retainers and then sell them down the river with a plea bargain.
Lacking the zealous representation of a competent attorney, and without prior knowledge or experience with the legal system, Jason then took the plea bargain.
Dads and Moms of Michigan (www.dadsofmichigan.org) includes Dads of Michigan, Moms of Michigan, and Dads of Michigan PAC. These are volunteer responsible parenthood education organizations for fathers and mothers. They instruct on the importance of involved biological parents to the successful development of their children. Dads of Michigan PAC is an independent volunteer political advocacy group dedicated to legislation keeping both biological parents actively engaged in the lives of their children despite divorce and custody, in most instances. They believe men and women should be viewed equally under the law and their credo is: "fathers are responsible parents too...because the best parent is both parents." Dads of Michigan, the Michigan affiliate of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, is also the developer of the Dads and Moms University of responsible education for teenage, divorced, and unmarried parents. This educational program employs several features to either directly or indirectly benefit nearly 2 million men, women, and grandparents and just under one-half million children each year in Michigan. For more information, please contact us at (248) 559-DADS (3237) or email info@dadsofmichigan.org.
DADS and MOMS of Michigan Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.
"Fathers are responsible parents too...because the best parent is both parents"
