?Boot Camp is an innovative program that inspires new fathers to become more engaged with their families and their spouses as they make the transformation into full-time dads.
Boot Camp for New Dads is a community-based workshop located next to the El Toro U.S. Marine Base in California that inspires men from all different economic levels, ages and cultures to become more engaged with their families and their spouses as they make the transformation into full-time dads. Founded in 1990, the non-profit Boot Camp for New Dads has graduated more than 300,000 men to date, making it by far the nation’s largest program supporting dads-to-be and fostering behaviors that will benefit children and also help prevent a wide range of social ills.
After the media discovered Boot Camp, and requests from other communities started coming in, the program was duplicated in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1996, and then offered to many other communities across the nation. In 2001, Boot Camp was offered in Spanish, and is still the nation’s only program geared to Spanish-speaking new fathers. The organization now runs workshops in the United Kingdom and Canada and is constantly receiving more new requests for assistance from around the world today.
The original Boot Camp mission of helping to ensure every child has a father they can count on is still firmly in place after 12 years, and the huge community benefits that result from those men who meet all of their family responsibilities and stay involved and engaged fathers, are now more valuable than ever. The program estimates that it now reaches 2% of all new fathers in the U.S. The founders of Boot Camp believe a community cannot make a better investment than to provide necessary support to its men to help them become the best fathers possible.
The Boot Camp for New Dads program works due to its valid founding principles that continue to guide the organization today. The program’s main tenets include:
Respecting Every New Father -
Respect the desire of every new father to do his best and overcome the challenges he faces
Connecting With Fathers -
Boot Camp reaches out to new fathers before their child’s birth when they are the most interested and receptive to support, education and transformative changes.
Bringing Out the Best –
Boot Camp’s father-to-father workshops deliver guidance in a safe, supportive environment where men can deal with their fears and concerns.
Skills for Success -
Boot Camp strives to equip fathers with the basic skills and confidence needed to overcome the challenges they will encounter.
Don’t Tell Me What to Do -
Boot Camp does provide a broad range of information and alternatives, but does not take positions.
Building Strength Together –
Men of different cultures, colors, ages, and economic levels working together enhances the growth of all involved.
Helping Create Accountability –
The program fosters and rewards excellence in fathering where men hold each other accountable for their performance as family and community leaders.
