The 600 Extraordinary Men of Dallas – How Tying a Tie Can Change a Life

Billy Earl Dade Middle School (Dade MS) teaches around 900 children, many of them from low-income families. In fact, 90% of the Dallas middle school’s student population comes from economically underprivileged families. Unfortunately, many students also come from broken homes, and absentee fathers are an all-too-common occurrence.

So when the school’s Site Based Decision Making Team decided to hold the first-ever “Breakfast With Dads” in December, they soon ran into a heartbreaking problem.

Although around 150 schoolboys signed up for the event, a significant number of the 11- to 13-year-olds were set to participate in a celebratory event without a father, or even an adult male role model – something that would have not only defeated the entire purpose of the event, but would have left many of the children feeling left out and disappointed.

Worried, the organizers took to social media with a plea for help, looking for about 50 or so men who would be willing to dedicate 1 hour to the young students, giving advice, showing interest – and simply showing up for them. What happened next, amazed everybody from students and organizers, to members of the local and global community, attracting praise from around the world and welcome positive media attention.