April 8, 2009

Daughter Daddy Dance







Girls Inc. Second Annual Daddy Daughter Dance
Fathers represented their daughters in an awesome demonstration of unity and brotherhood at the recent Girls Inc. (www.girlsincjax.org) “The Daddy Daughter Golf Ball”. There are no qualms that the fathers in attendance made a significant and powerful impression on their daughters by taking time to dine, dance and display gentlemanly mannerisms that set high standards;


As quoted by Joseph Addison, “Certain, there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express“.
The developmental, emotional and psychological growth and maturity of girls is such that if a father shows his daughter the appropriate kind of attention and guides their maturity as they grow into adulthood, girls will be more apt to graduate from high school and continue on to higher education, military service or higher skilled careers. As in the spiritual song, “Father, I Stretch My Hands To Thee”, (African American Heritage Hymnal 2001). Stated, “Father, I stretch my hands to thee, no other help I know, If thou with draw thyself from me. O whither shall I go”? Where will our daughters go if they cannot hold our hands to lead them? Our daughter’s need our guidance, these young princesses growing to be queens; Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Haitian, Mexican and others in attendance need our love and loving discipline/guidance. If we don’t extend our hands, “no other help I know” as the hymnal states, where will our daughters go and who will they go to?


The Girls Inc. organization is unique in that they cater to the needs of young ladies not just in Jacksonville, but across the nation; Girls Inc. reaches over 800,000 girls from all walks of life regardless of cultural background, family economic status, religious affiliations or the color tones of their skin. The organizational entity of Girls Inc. is such that they recognize a need the community/nation has and taken a step foreword doing work that needs to be done in a girl’s life, a service that establishes relevant teaching, mentorship and the building of self esteems. The mission states, “inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold, Girls Incorporated of Jacksonville is dedicated to girls aged six and up to be self-confident, responsible and well-rounded individuals by delivering research-based, age-appropriate, after-school and summer educational and sports programs”
(http://www.girlsincjax.org/about/overview/). Our daughters are our future lawyers, doctors, teachers, mayors, senators, or even President of the United States of America; an unknown author once said, “A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future”. Through our daughters we can influence the future by instilling in our daughters a sense of purpose and a drive to excellence.


Fathers need to continue to support the efforts that direct the steps of girls throughout the challenges they will face in the world. There are pressures and perils, from the media to other external influences that do not always have our daughter’s best interests at hand. We as fathers share a unique brotherhood, a brotherhood where we need to continue to support each other and be down with helping our girls be the best that they can be, to support the efforts of the Girls Inc. with volunteering time and providing resources to assist them in their efforts to guide our future leaders.


I’m sure I speak for many fathers that were in attendance and say Thank you, Girls Inc. for your efforts and we as father’s support your labors in helping our daughters achieve their potential and realize their individual gifts, talents, uniqueness, strengths, and beauty that they possess. I share these sentiments that Helen Claes states, “What I wanted most for my daughter was that she be able to soar confidently in her own sky, whatever that may be”.

Girls Inc. ROCKS….