You are here: News Young Dads Collective Wins Prestigious Youth Volunteering Award
The much celebrated Young Dads Collective (YDC) has won the prestigious Youth Volunteering Award at the Children and Young People Now Awards 2015. The news comes as YDC becomes one of the Family and Childcare Trust’s flagship, peer-run programmes.
The YDC project works to highlight the issues and problems faced by young fathers and improve the way that professionals communicate and support them. Through peer based training and consultancy, YDC aims to improve parental support offered to young dads who are often side-lined in favour of mothers - particularly if they do not live with their children.
Young Dads Collective Project Manager at the Family and Childcare Trust, Hannah Turner-Uaandja, said:
"Young dads are all too often left out by the services that should support them through their transitions from young person to young dad.
"We’re absolutely thrilled to have won this award and to be able to continue our work as part of the Family and Childcare Trust, making sure young dads have a say in how support services can meet the needs of the whole family."
Ruben Vemba, Young Dads Collective Member at the Family and Childcare Trust said:
"Many young dads are dedicated to their child’s upbringing and with improvements, services can be a key factor in shaping and enhancing the future of a young father and his child’s life. This award will help us reach more young dads who want to be the best dads to their children, but don’t always get the support they need."
YDC are running a stall throughout the Being a Man festival (27/28 November) where their members will be on hand to talk about the collective’s work, aims and their experiences of being a father.
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Contact: Mark Bou Mansour, Communications and Campaigns Manager. Telephone: 0207 940 7535, mobile: 07538 334 772, email: mark@familyandchildcaretrust.org.
Notes to editor:
Find out more about the Young Dads Collective.
"Young fathers (aged 16-24) are some of the most invisible, marginalised and vulnerable parents in the UK." (Fatherhood Institute: Young Father Research Summary)
The presence of a partner is a key factor affecting the relationship between young motherhood and behavioural difficulties in the child. The effect is mediated via the poorer mental health of women who do not have a stable partnership (Fatherhood Institute: Young Father Research Summary)
Children’s life chances greatly improve when their Dad is present. "Father absent homes are more likely to have problems in school performance and on average, are more likely to be more unhappy, sad, depressed, dependent, and hyperactive." (The Effects of Father Involvement: An Updated Research Summary of the Evidence Inventory, Father Involvement Research Alliance, 2007, Canada)
The Young Dads Collective was formerly the Young Dads Council, run by Media for Development. It was formed in 2012 following the award winning action research project, YoungDadsTV. The Young Dads Collective (YDC) is a peer advisory project that works to reduce levels of poverty and isolation experienced by young fathers and at the same time develop the skill sets and employability of all the young fathers who are members. All collective members are young fathers under the age of 25.
The Young Dads Collective are finalists in the Youth Volunteering Category at the Children and Young Peoples Awards 2015.
About the Family and Childcare Trust
The Family and Childcare Trust aims to make the UK a better place for families. We are a leading national family charity in the field of policy, research and advocacy on childcare and family issues, with over 40 years’ experience. Our on-the-ground work with parents and providers informs our research and campaigns. We focus on the early years and childcare because they are crucial to boosting children’s outcomes throughout life and supporting parents to work.