What a week!
Last Sunday, I had the honour of attending and representing Dads4Kids at the Bikes, Cars and Coffee event at Full Throttle Ranch in the Hunter Valley region. Congratulations to Martin Stevenson and all the team on a fantastic event!
The cars and bikes were sensational, and Senator Pauline Hanson, a longtime advocate for men and fathers in federal politics, was there to judge the best of them. For what it’s worth, my pick of the show was the classic 1966 Ford Mustang pictured below.
Hundreds of car and bike show participants, as well as attendees, kindly donated gold coins to Dads4Kids at the front gate. I was humbled to accept a very generous donation for Dads4Kids from Martin Stevenson and the Mangrove Mountain Muscle Car Club (members and myself pictured below). Thanks again, fellas!
It was certainly a privilege to meet so many people who care deeply about fathers, families, and the future of Australia. The Bikes, Cars and Coffee event was well organised, very well attended, and the Texas BBQ was terrific. If you’re in the Hunter Valley region, make sure you visit Full Throttle Ranch or Full Throttle BBQ & Café. Mick and his team certainly know their way around a smoker.
Wednesday was International Men’s Day, and what a day it was. My father, Dads4Kids cofounder Warwick Marsh, our dear friend Andrew Gray and I had the pleasure of hosting the first-ever 9-hour International Men’s Day global webcast. Make sure you check it out below if you weren’t able to watch live.
It was an amazing team effort, and we were joined by a long list of amazing guests from Australia and all over the world, including Warren Farrell (bestselling author of The Boy Crisis, plus many other books), David Maywald (author of The Relentless War on Masculinity – more on David’s work in next week’s newsletter), International Men’s Day founder Jerome Teelucksingh, Bettina Arndt, and many others from Denmark, Poland, the UK, Nigeria, Tonga and the USA.
Special thanks to Warwick and Alison Marsh for their incredible work planning and coordinating so many aspects of the livestream. Big thanks to the team behind the scenes, too!
On Friday, Dads4Kids friends Martini Schwalger, Rick Saywell, Board Member Rob Day, Dave Lukins, and myself (pictured above) were honoured to attend the Men’s Day Forum event in Canberra. Organised by the wonderful Phil Gouldson and Bec Forrest, it was a day of inspiration and encouragement to back our boys and men.
There were many great speakers, and Phil reflected on two things in particular that should encourage us in the work to support men and boys:
- There is a wave of energetic and passionate people at the grassroots level who are leading the way, and
- There is increasing involvement and advocacy for men and boys from women.
Phil is spot on, and this past week has certainly demonstrated the power of stronger together. As we work cooperatively, we’ll continue transforming the nation by inspiring fathers to help their children be the best they can be.
Lovework
This week showed that we really are stronger together. As I wrote in September, no man is an island, and it’s heartening to see both men and women coming together to celebrate and support men and boys. The tide is turning, but there is still much to do. Let’s continue speaking up and working together to make the world a better place for our children.
Yours for stronger together,
Nathaniel Marsh
P.S. A massive THANK YOU to Martin Stevenson, Mangrove Mountain Muscle Car Club, and all those who supported International Men’s Day. Dads4Kids couldn’t do what we do without you! Please watch and share this video, and consider donating to Dads4Kids here to help us continue turning the tide of fatherlessness.
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Republished with thanks to Dads4Kids.