Rep. Johnson Seeks Videos That Honor Fathers
WASHINGTON -- With Father’s Day approaching, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-6th Ohio, has launched an initiative called Raising Fathers that asks Americans to honor their own fathers, or the fathers they know, by posting a short video tribute to them on YouTube.
“Raising Fathers” is designed to be a community effort that, as Johnson sees it, will shed light on the national epidemic of the shortage of strong father figures for children. Through a special website (CLICK HERE), Johnson will share news and seek comment on this issue.
His experience as a son, a father, and grandfather led to this effort, Johnson said. “My father was infrequently home and frequently drunk,” he recalled. “It’s too common a story that I’ve tried to reverse with my own children, and now it’s time to bring more public attention to the issue.”
The problem of absentee fathers transcends all socio-economic, racial, and religious demographics, Johnson posited. Today, one out of three children lives in a single-parent home, the congressman says. Fifty years ago, that number was one in 10.
“This is a problem for governments at all levels, with the ripple effect resulting in more taxpayer-funded prison cells, treatment centers and probation officers, to name just a few,” Johnson said. “I hope to use my influence to build a coalition of neighbors, churches, community leaders and all people of good will to do something about it.”
The first aspect of the effort involves video tributes for Father’s Day this Sunday. Johnson is asking Americans to post a short video on YouTube with the term “Raising Fathers” in the description, and he will include the best of those videos on the project website. “You can talk about your own father, your husband’s role as a father, or just a father you know who deserves recognition,” he said. “It’s a great Father’s Day present to let the rest of the world know how much that father has meant to you.”
Johnson has posted his own on the website and has begun to post other videos submitted by supporters of the project.
The project involves no taxpayer funds or donated money and is funded in its entirety as a personal project by Johnson.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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