By Kaitlin Candelaria
On Aug. 1, Hoover schools will be overrun with daddies of all kinds.
The Hoover City Dad Brigade, the brainchild of Board of Education President Derrick Murphy, encourages fathers and other male role models to come out with their children to help improve the campuses of Hoover’s city schools.
Murphy, himself a father of three, worked with other Hoover fathers to come up with the idea, which he hopes to make an annual event.
“The Hoover City Dad Brigade is designed to energize our fathers throughout the city of Hoover with the importance of getting involved in schools,” Murphy said.
Murphy said the mission for the event is to show children the importance of parental involvement while supporting school personnel and giving high school boys opportunities for community service hours. Beyond that, he also hopes to make a difference in children’s lives through positive role modeling. He hopes to see at least 400 Hoover fathers and father figures participating.
“When fathers are engaged in school, students perform better academically, socially, behavioral issues are down, and it provides a healthier opportunity for kids to make educated decisions that benefit students long term,” Murphy said.
According to Murphy, his civic attitude is a by-product of his upbringing, which was heavily influenced by his grandfather, Arthur Robert Murphy, a World War II veteran.
“He was a very structured man,” Murphy said. “The one thing I loved about him is that he was very patient.”
The event will kick off at the Riverchase Galleria Home Depot at 6:45 a.m. Fathers should arrive prepared to load supplies into their vehicles before heading out to different elementary schools in the area to perform tasks such as power washing, landscaping, painting, building flower planters, building outdoor picnic tables, moving furniture, assembling shelves and more. Home Depot has generously donated some of the supplies.
Each elementary school will be assigned a project leader, and fathers and their children will work until 1 p.m.
“When they see their parents helping at school in any magnitude, whether that’s reading in the library, going on field trips or something else, that’s a good thing,” Murphy said. “Being there as a dad can make all the difference for a student.”