‘Donuts with Dad’ event at Bruce Elementary focuses on father-child bonding, mental health

Macon Violence Prevention’s Donuts with Dads event promotes fatherhood bonding and raises awareness of men’s mental health challenges.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – When it comes to parents feeling mentally drained, most people often think of moms being burned out—but dads can experience the same struggles. To address this, Macon Violence Prevention Coordinator Jeremy Grissom says the organization wanted to create an event encouraging dads to bond with their children through positive activities.

“We just thought it was important that we have an event where dads are involved with their kids, and Donuts with Dads is just that,” he said. “Kids usually talk to their dads sometimes about getting in trouble or, ‘Hey, I’m going to call your dad,’ but now this is just a chance for dad to come, have a doughnut, and talk with their kids and spend that time.”

While dads may seem like superheroes in their children’s eyes, Grissom says they need to feel appreciated too.

“And I think that it’s an under talked about topic,” he said. “We don’t talk about men’s mental health a lot, we don’t talk about fatherhood a lot. But there’s other additional resources in other spaces, so I felt like it was important to bring the light to that because having a father get the support and be around like-minded individuals can change a lot for a family structure.”

Andrea Cooke, Project Director for the Macon Mental Health Matters Initiative, says having a father present can significantly impact a child’s future.

“Most important factor in whether a child will do well is having one safe, secure adult in their lives,” she said. “If you look at this room, these children are going to be so successful just based on the support.”

Cooke says events like this remind families how important it is to care for mental health.

“A mental illness doesn’t define you, and there’s plenty of resources in this community,” she said. “I firmly believe that Macon’s one of the most mentally healthy cities in Georgia, if not the most. So, I’m encouraged by this. I’m encouraged to continue to provide no-cost services to people… especially men.”

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Bruce Elementary School will also hold its Muffins with Mom event on Friday, May 9.