JIMMY DEUCHARS OF GRANDPARENTS APART ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF FIRST MOBILE FAMILY INFORMATION AND EDUCATION CENTRE IN UNITED KINGDOM

We are proud to announce the launch of our Family Information & Education Centre. It will carry all types of family information. We have information about Kinship care, adoption, social services, courts and advice on how to build bridges when family problems arise. We will also have information about other family support organisations that can help with particular issues. If we don’t know the answer, we will know a man that does!

There is an alternative to locking horns, an alternative to legal action. We can help you find the solution to suit your family problems.

We will be promoting ‘The Charter for Grandchildren’ created by the Scottish Government to remind and encourage families to put the children’s welfare first in family arguments and encourage professionals to be more alert to the real ‘best interest of the child’ in their daily workings.

Also available will be The Parenting Agreement for couples planning to separate or divorce to help them come to an agreement about their children and focus on what is best for them. We aim to make sure the distress to children involved is minimised and to help adults avoid costly and lengthy court cases. The ones who lose out most are the children caught up in adult conflict.

Early intervention is the key. Most problems can be resolved if advice, support and information is ready available and the public know where to find it. We are trying to do just that.

Our group have received a Big Lottery Award (Investing in Ideas) to develop this project and will be touring around Scotland to make the public aware that there is help available if they are having family problems.

See the Scottish Sun on Wednesday for our advert.

Jimmy Deuchars
22 Alness Crescent
Glasgow G52 1PJ
0141 882 5658
www.grandparentsapart.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL MEN'S MONTH - JUNE 2008

Children are more than mere extensions of ourselves. They are our future. Our bridge to the future. Men -- especially Men who are Fathers -- have key "pieces of the puzzle" to creating a strong foundation for the bridge to our future. But in the Millennium, the task of creating a strong foundation for the bridge to our future is a daunting task -- a task that, for many, is being undertaken under the most difficult set of circumstances and against great odds. Men -- especially Men who are Fathers -- are the glue that holds our families, our communities and our world together. No one in our global village should ever be made to feel that he or she does not matter or what he or she has to offer is not important. Yet, for example, Men throughout our global village, in one-on-one conversations, in conferences , and in Internet discussion groups express feelings of isolation and worthlessness. Every idea is important. Every voice must be heard. We cannot afford to have Men -- especially Men who are Fathers -- living and walking among us who feel devalued and isolated ... that they have nothing to contribute and that they are without options.

IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R) has learned that JUNE 2008 has been declared INTERNATIONAL MEN'S MONTH. For information concerning International Men's Month, visit the website of Menstuff at www.menstuff.org or send an e-mail to: menstuff@aol.com.

We all have key "pieces of the puzzle" that will assist Men in developing and implementing plans that will move their families forward, positively shaping the minds and souls of our children, and strengthening and empowering our families, our communities and our world. After all, it's really about the children -- our future -- our bridge to the future.


In June 2008 -- INTERNATIONAL MEN'S MONTH, let's bring our key "pieces of the puzzle" to building a bridge for the future to the Table Of Humanity. Every idea is important. Every voice must be heard.

After all, isn't it really about the children?

THE FATHER FIGURE MOVEMENT: TWO RISING STARS IN THE FATHERHOOD MOVEMENT IGNITE A GLOBAL DIALOGUE ON FATHERLESSNESS...

THE FATHER FIGURE MOVEMENT


PHILADELPHIA, PA. (USA) – 26 APRIL 2008 – It’s about providing solutions to fatherlessness and emphasizing the importance of a dominant male presence in our children’s lives. It’s a soulful, powerfully riveting and groundbreaking documentary – FATHER FIGURE – and a movement that is energizing the Global Dialogue on Fatherhood – the FATHER FIGURE MOVEMENT.


FATHER FIGURE was co-written and co-produced by two rising stars in the Fatherhood Movement – Professor Eleanor Earl and Mrs. Odetta Wright Tamu.

Professor Earl is an Assistant Professor of English and Cinema Studies at Hampton University. She is. a director, writer, poet, playwright and singer whose work has been performed at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, Twentieth Century Fox Studios in Hollywood, and other venues in Scotland, New York and Los Angeles.

Mrs. Wright is a playwright with 30 plays to her credit, poet, author and actress whose works has appeared in various plays such as A Raisin in the Sun and Theatre IV’s production of Harriet Tubman and in a one-woman show entitled Old Souls which debuted in Scotland at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival.

Professor Earl and Mrs. Wright recently took time out of their developing schedule to talk to IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® about their documentary – FATHER FIGURE which is igniting a global dialogue on Fatherlessness and how it might be resolved. In addition, they continue to explore ways in which their documentary has taken on a life of its own and fostered a movement – THE FATHER FIGURE MOVEMENT.

So, what do they have to say? The Spring 2008 issue of IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® has all of the details.


BSI International, Inc.
Post Office Box 3885
Philadelphia, PA 19146-0185
Land/Voice: 215-546-0262
WEBSITE: www.bsi-international.com
BLOG: http://globalfatherhooddialogue.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: bsi-international@earthlink.net

THE HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC.: APPROACHING FORTY AND "THINK GREEN PEACE" CAMPAIGN

HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC.
Making A Difference Since 1968


P R E S S R E L E A S E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CONTACT: Queen Mother Falaka Fattah
House Of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.org)
Telephone: (215) 473-5893
Facsimile: (215) 879-5340
E-MAIL: falakafattah@aol.com; falakafattah@houseofumoja.org



THE HOUSE OF UMOJA, INC.: APPROACHING FORTY AND “THINK GREEN PEACE”

PHILADELPHIA, PA (U.S.A.) – 17 MARCH 2008 –-- Since its founding in 1968 by Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her husband Mr. David Fattah, the House Of Umoja, Inc.has positively shaped the minds and souls of approximately 3,000 young men; successfully negotiated a peace pact among leaders of gangs in Philadelphia in 1974 which brought to an end bloody and deadly gang conflicts that had plagued the nation’s fourth largest city; and rekindled community spirit and energized a public school system in its leadership and organizing role for the 2007 Million Father March in the City of Philadelphia as it moves children in the City of Philadelphia to commit to nonviolence by signing the Imani Pledge.

As it approaches its 40th anniversary, the House Of Umoja, Inc. continues to create key “pieces of the puzzle” to not only positively shaping the minds and souls of the City’s youth but also beautifying and empowering the neighborhoods in which they reside by “Think Green Peace”.

The House Of Umoja, Inc.’s “Think Green Peace” Campaign -- which consists of several components that include, but are not limited to, transforming vacant lots into gardens that are abloom with vegetables and flowers; and engaging the youths, adults, and business community in the task of preparing the vacant lots for planting in the Carroll Park section of West Philadelphia -- will culminate with the First Philadelphia Collard Green Cultural Festival For 2008 which is scheduled to occur in July 2008.

“The House Of Umoja, Inc.’s ‘Think Green Peace’ Campaign is creating key ‘pieces of the puzzle’ to beautifying our community, educating our young about our environment, and moving our community to self-sufficiency,” Queen Mother Falaka Fattah explained.

So, how can you get involved in the House Of Umoja, Inc.’s “Think Green Peace” Campaign?

Contact Queen Mother Falaka Fattah at the House Of Umoja, Inc. at (215) 473-5893 or via e-mail at: falakafattah@aol.com.

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GOODBYE, MY DAUGHTER, WHEREVER YOU MAY BE: MR. PAUL M. CLEMENTS

Dear Danielle,

I write this letter to the celestial ethers, as I haven’t seen you or talked to you in fifteen years. I have no idea where you might be living, now that you’re grown and on your own. I know you graduated from college, but I wasn’t invited to witness that momentous occasion. Neither was I invited to attend your high school graduation. I found out the date by accident, and attended anyway. Did you see me looking down at you from the balcony of the town hall? I managed to get a few grainy photos of you, resplendent in your cap and gown, and I sent one to you, to let you know I cared enough about you to be there.

You didn’t acknowledge receipt of that photo, as you did not acknowledge any of the gifts and cards I sent over the years we were apart. Every birthday, every Christmas, sometimes in between, I sent something, always hoping for a “thank you” card in return. Occasionally, I’d send a book that I thought might give you a clue as to what makes me tick. I guess that was selfish of me, expecting something in return for a gift. Maybe what I was really hoping for was too much to ask of you. I was secretly hoping that the act of writing a thank you card would be the beginning of reconciliation. Now, after all these years, I have come to suspect that perhaps you didn’t actually receive any of those gifts. At one point in the process of divorce between your mother and me, she told me she’d make certain I never saw you again. It’s called “Parental Alienation”, although you’ve probably never heard the phrase. In any event, it would seem that she made good on her threat.

I never thought that would be possible, we were so close for so many years. It was me who got up to feed or change you in the first months of your life. It was me you came to if a toy needed repairs. It was me you called out to when you had a bad dream. I’d also like to think I was responsible for your love of music. I don’t think I ever told you how proud of you I was, to see you marching with the high school band, or performing in a recital in the high school cafeteria. Of course, by that time, your mother had a live-in boyfriend, and I was ignored in favor of your newly styled family. Do you remember how I taught you not to be afraid of mathematics? I had you adding and subtracting apples, bananas, and carrots, soon to be shortened to A + B + C = ?. I wish I had had the chance to tell you how proud I was of your excellent score on the math test for Johns Hopkins Univ. Who would have thought that apples, bananas, and carrots would lead to a score of 95th percentile on a national exam. I may have been looking on from a distance, but no dad was ever more proud of his child.

Over the years, I’ve done a few things that might have made you proud of ME. I got involved in politics, because I saw a need for reform in the family courts. The bias and injustice toward fathers I saw there, which caused my separation from you, was so intolerable that I knew I had to do all I could to change it. Once, I had breakfast with a prominent candidate for the presidency. In another election year, I came to be known personally to still another candidate. When we moved to New Hampshire, I got involved with gubernatorial campaigns. I was asked to write a commentary for one candidate, and am still on a first name basis with yet another. When Craig Benson was elected governor, it was me who convinced him to begin regular meetings with the family law reform group. I also spoke out on family law reform on every major television station in Boston. In fact, I regularly did editorial responses on Channel 5. I started a group for other divorced fathers, and have continued to be an outspoken fathers’ rights advocate to the present day. I also came to be a pretty good writer, and have been published in various media nationally and internationally. Many of the stories and commentaries I wrote were about you, and our relationship as father and daughter. They include three commentaries for New Hampshire Public Radio. Even my three years as a volunteer in the state prison were prompted by my anguish at being separated from you. It was just another letter to the editor, but it caught someone’s eye, and I was invited to apply for the volunteer leadership of the prison fathers group. I don’t tell you all this to brag. I just want you to know that you inspired me to greater effort, and higher standards than I would have achieved otherwise. So great was my love for you, that my anger at losing you to the divorce courts provides my motivation to this day. I truly don’t want any other father to suffer the same loss.

So why am I writing a letter you may never read? In hopes that the Universal Consciousness will convey my thoughts to you, wherever you may be. In point of fact, I did make an effort to find your current address, and sent a letter. As for all the past fifteen years, there was no response. Maybe you moved, maybe you don’t care to have contact with me. It makes me wonder, did your mother’s alienation work that well? Maybe you married, and changed your name. That would be another event in your life I was not invited to attend. If you did marry, and if you have a son, I hope and pray that he will not lose a child the way I lost you. I may never know. I’m sixty five years old now, and I see Morpheus waiting in the wings. I’ve just about given up hope of seeing you again in this life, so I write this as a last letter. End of chapter, end of book. Goodbye, my daughter, wherever you may be.

For advertising, subscription and articles submission information and to learn about IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)'s International Fatherhood and Men's Studies Internship Program, send an e-mail to BSI International, Inc. at: bsi-international@earthlink.net

AMONGST MEN, INC.'S MENTORING SERVICES ... EMPOWERING YOUNG MEN IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA...