SC Fathers and Families to gain $100k if coach wins
According to USC men’s basketball coach Frank Martin, parenthood is “the most important responsibility that anyone has in this world.”
Martin is currently taking part in the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge on behalf of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an organization that seeks to help fathers who have been absent from the lives of their children. The organization helps fathers reconnect with their families.
“When you’re a boy, you’re taught that you need to become a man. Somehow, some way, that translation is that you’re not supposed to ask for help,” Martin said. “But a lot of times, what gets lost is that we’re human beings and we’re too proud to ask for help sometimes.”
The Coaches’ Challenge is a competition among 48 men’s basketball coaches around the country. Martin is competing with Georgia’s Mark Fox and Florida’s Billy Donovan, among others, in the South Region. One coach in each of the four regions will move on to the finals, and the overall winner will receive $100,000 to donate to a charity of his choice.
Martin learned about the Center for Fathers and Families through USC first lady Patricia Moore-Pastides. While he was at the President’s House the evening before he was announced as the basketball coach, he mentioned an interest in helping the Columbia community.
“He said it was very important to him that he not just train basketball players but that he raise young men and good citizens, good husbands and good fathers,” Moore-Pastides said.
Moore-Pastides serves on the board for the Sisters of Charity Health System, which administers the Center for Fathers and Families. After speaking with Martin, she suggested he give an address at its 10-year anniversary luncheon. She said about 400 community leaders attended the event.
Martin, who was raised in a household without a father, said the primary message of his address was that adults are responsible for preparing their children for the challenge of being at the head of a family.
“I get sick and tired of hearing people say that kids are different. Kids are not different,” Martin said. “It’s the adults that have changed. Because we have changed, we’re allowing kids to change.”
The Center for Fathers and Families runs six fatherhood programs at 11 sites throughout South Carolina. Garrett Butler, the public relations and administrative coordinator, said it serves approximately 1,500 fathers statewide and affects 3,200 children a year.
The Center runs a six-month program for fathers but also welcomes walk-ins. As part of the program, men participate in weekly group sessions, but they have the option of requesting one-on-one counseling.
“The group sessions provide a trusting environment where fathers don’t feel judged,” Butler said. “A lot of these guys are low-income, low-educated men. They never really had a place to talk about their feelings and what they’re going through.”
Among other initiatives, the center is working with judges in the South Carolina court system so that men whose only offense is related to child support can go through one of its programs instead of going to prison.
Martin is helping plan an event where 40 fathers and their children will attend a USC basketball game.
“We’re doing different things to try to connect whatever I can do with their needs,” Martin said.
As a father of three, Martin has not only given the center additional publicity, but he has been a figure that fathers can relate to.
“He doesn’t want to be just a name,” Butler said. “He really cares about fatherhood. It’s deeply rooted within him.”
Voting for the Coaches’ Challenge is open through Feb. 27.