BUILDING BONDS DADCAMP PROVIDES QUALITY FATHER-CHILD EXPERIENCES
Writer / Ryan Kennedy Photography Provided
Jason Braun believes many of the ills afflicting society have one thing in common - disengaged fathers. “If there’s one thing our communities, our churches and our governments should be really focusing on, it should be helping dads just become the best they can be,” Braun says.
families get better. That’s what’s different about DADCAMP from other types of activities or things that are out there for families to participate in with their kids.”
fathers and their high school-aged children, DADCAMP Middle School for fathers and their middle school-aged children, as well as DADCAMP Grades 1st-5th and DADCAMP Old School, which is for fathers and adult sons.
Braun says DADCAMP started as part of a church in Kokomo. In 2016 it became an independent nonprofit organization.
Braun has three children, and he credits DADCAMP with helping him to be a present, positive force in their lives.
“It’s not associated or affiliated with any one church or anything - it’s just its own deal now,” he says.
“The tools, the things that I’ve been equipped with, the ways to navigate conversations, the ways to build them up, and the ways to have presence in their lives that I’ve learned through leading this organization have been invaluable,” he says.
Braun says a typical weekend consists of sessions aimed at building relationships between fathers and their children, and also sessions exclusively for dads, where the men “Essentially, it is a father-child experience work together, share their experiences with where we create a weekend-long event one another and help each other become for dads and kids to invest into that the best fathers possible. DADCAMP also relationship, but we also really focus on dads brings in speakers to talk to the dads in themselves,” Braun says. “All of our content attendance. is driven at helping a father just become a little bit better at doing his fatherhood thing, The organization offers four different types and we know that when fathers get better, of camps: DADCAMP High School for Rather than wait for someone else, Braun decided to act. He co-founded DADCAMP.
TownePost.com / JULY 2021 / CARMEL MAGAZINE / 7
DADCAMP will host 14 events in Indiana this summer. Although it started locally, the organization hosts events not just all over the country, but also all over the world. According to the official website, DADCAMP leaders hope to be in 25 countries and 25 states by 2030. One way they hope to achieve this goal is
