Dante Pollard is one of the Interagency Fatherhood Council’s Father Co-Champions, along with Kyle Paskewitz. Dante and Kyle were both nominated by Interagency Fatherhood Council Director Anne Stone and were honored earlier this month by Seattle’s Child magazine and the Department of Children, Youth and Families’ Strengthening Families Washington as part of their Unsung Heroes series.
Dante is also Poverty Reduction Work Group Steering Committee and a wide array of other volunteer roles supporting families who have experienced struggles.
“You two both are so deserving of this award with all that you do for families, in so many settings,” Anne wrote to the two nominees. “You are generous with your time, expertise, and passion as mentors, teachers, and advocates.”
Dante, a single father of two girls, has worked within the child welfare system as a client to acquire skills to be the best parent possible to his children. He serves as a parent advocate to support other parents, taking calls from strangers seeking his advice and accompanying nervous parents to court dates. He’s currently finishing his Associate of Arts degree in computer science, along with his advocacy work and his service on the PRWG Steering Committee.
Kyle, a father of two boys and a veteran, is the cofounder of Parentalink. He also serves on the Statewide Preschool Development Grant to ensure fathers’ voices and perspectives are included in the upcoming plan. He has been willing to share his personal life story in rooms with political leaders so that those within the government are better able to understand how the systems impact families and he uses his understanding of the court system to support families across the state and will answer calls day or night to offer assistance.
You can read the Seattle’s Child article on Dante here, and read the article on Kyle here.
Congratulations!
Anne Stone, Director of the Washington Interagncy Fatherhood Council