Hey Dads!

The past month has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Some days, I'm really cherishing all of this extra time I'm getting to spend with my kids. Other days, I feel like I'm trapped in a very unfunny version of Groundhog Day where I spend most of my time sobbing in the bathroom. Thankfully, I get to process all of these emotions with my therapist every Monday at 2pm.

Oddly enough, during this time of social distancing, I've never felt closer to a group of men in all of my life. Over 30 fathers connected with one another through Dad Guild during the month of April, and the relationships being developed have been characterized by honesty, vulnerability, support, humor, respect, and, well, a whole lotta love.

Dads have been talking about feeling depressed. They've been talking about feeling happy. They've laughed a helluva lot. They've discussed issues going on with their partners. They've exchanged bread recipes, and dropped off yeast and sourdough starters at each other's homes. They've talked about the fear of losing their jobs. They've shared videos of dance parties with their kids. Dads have been talking about their highest highs, and lowest lows.

We're in this pandemic together.

For the month of May, we're gonna keep doing what we've been doing. Marco Polo. Weekly Hump Day Check-Ins. Jackbox Game Nights. And we're also changing the way we're providing opportunities to connect with our children around, so be sure to check out our first ever month-long Dad Guild Bingo event. Who knows, you may even earn yourself some pizza.

I hope you're all doing well, and I encourage you to reach out if you are looking for any type of support during this pandemic. Or like, if you just want to laugh while enjoying a beer over Zoom. We're here.

-Keegan

P.S. Mother's Day is May 10th.

If you're having trouble viewing the calendar in this email, please click here to view a larger image.

All virtual events are being hosted by Dad Guild on Zoom. Our monthly email is visible to the public on our website, so we will not be sharing the link here. This information has been shared in previous Dad Guild emails, and is visible to folks in the Dad Guild Burlington Facebook Group. You can email us for the link as well. We're just trying to prevent Zoom trolls. And murder hornets.

Dad Guild Bingo: Month-long Event

Do you enjoy doing fun things with your kid(s)? Do you like Bingo? Do you like events that happen on your own time, whenever you feel like doing them? Do you like free pizza? Well, look no further.

During the month of May, fathers are invited to participate in the first ever Dad Guild Bingo event. Over the course of the month, engage in activities with your children, take photos of the fun happening, and share them with us at Dad Guild when you complete a BINGO. At the end of the month, we'll draw one name from the entries and that person will receive a $25 gift card from Folino's Pizza in Burlington. You can enter as many times as you would like, as long as it is a different BINGO each time. Email your photos to us at keegan@dadguild.org, or post them in our private Facebook Group, Dad Guild Burlington. At the end of the month, we'll draw one lucky name for the gift card.

And if you're willing, we'd LOVE to use these photos in upcoming promotional materials for Dad Guild. The idea of potentially getting 100+ photos of fathers engaged in fun activities with their kids warms my heart, and would be really awesome.

Dads' Night In: Weekly Hump Day Check In

The weekly Hump Day check-ins were pretty popular last month, so we're extending the time and keeping them going. Every Wednesday night, from 8:45-10:00, join a bunch of dads doing extreme close-ups with one another. Talk about how the week has been going, share some recipes, laugh a little. You know the drill. BYOB.

Dads' Night In: Jackbox Games

Jackbox Games are hilarious, easy, and free. Fellow father and Dad Guild member, Marcus Tracy, will be hosting another two nights of games this month (May 12th & May 26th from 8:00-10:00) via Zoom. Folks should have two devices ready, one for the Zoom meeting and one to play the game in a web browser. Escape reality and laugh a little.

Family Room Fatherhood Support

As many of you know, my full-time job is at the Janet S. Munt Family Room, where my role is the Fatherhood Program Coordinator. During these uncertain times, I've been checking in regularly with around 40 dads, attempting to make sure everyone is getting the support they need. One of the things I am finding to be a challenge, is being able to dedicate enough time to help guys with things like signing up for an email address, navigating the unemployment world, searching for jobs, signing up for food stamps, learning how to use Zoom correctly, etc. Most of these tasks could be done over the phone, or even through created "how-to" YouTube videos that fathers could view on their own times. If anyone feels they have the time to support this work in any shape or form, please email me at keegan@thefamilyroomvt.org. Even a 30-minute conversation with another dad, helping him navigate some aspect of life, would be tremendously helpful. Please let me know if you're interested!

Another Day, Another Dollar

And lastly, I wanted to share a little laughter with you all.

Last month, my family participated in the Vermont Comedy Club's Homedance Film Festival. Filmmakers had 48 hours to make a movie no longer than eight minutes in length, that included an alarm clock, toilet paper, and the phrase "What the hell do you expect me to do with that?" I'm pretty happy with what we were able to put together.

If you have 7 minutes to spare, click here. Enjoy!