Middle school calls for 50 volunteers to dads' breakfast event, 600 show up

DALLAS – The Billy Earl Dade Middle School in Dallas hosted its first “Breakfast with Dads” event in December but the real story is the generosity from the male community surrounding the event.

Approximately 90 percent of the 900 students at the school come from low-income families, according to the Austin American Statesman.

So when 150 male students signed up, the event facilitators were worried some of the boys wouldn’t have a male figure to attend the breakfast with.

“When a young person sees someone other than their teacher take interest in them, it inspires them. That’s what we want to see happen. These kids need all the support they can get to be successful,” Rev. Donald Parish Jr. of True Lee Missionary Baptist Church said to The Dallas Morning News.

Kristina Chaade, who is affiliated with the middle school, posted to Twitter in December calling for male volunteers to come as mentors for male students who might be alone.

Hoping for 50 volunteers on the day of the event, the students of Billy Earl Dade Middle School were not disappointed — almost 600 men showed up.

One of the male volunteers was Jason Rodriguez, who is the assistant police chief of Dallas Independent School District Police Department.

"Words cannot describe the impact mentoring youth can have on both you and your mentee,” Rodriguez said. 

Stephanie Drenka, a photographer from Dallas, photographed the event and posted about her experience on her website.

View photos of the event below:

"Mentors handed out ties to the eager students and helped them perfect their half-Windsor knot. The sight of a necktie may forever bring a tear to my eye,” Drenka wrote.

Two very enthusiastic thumbs up to the mentors who showed up that day in Dallas.