On April 25, 2015, Laura Soto, Coordinator for SAY’s San Diego Dads Corps, and her entire team, were recognized by the California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, for their extraordinary efforts, creative program design and impactful outcomes. The award was given at PETCO Park, just as the Padres faced off with the Dodgers, bringing much deserved national recognition to Laura, the staff and fathers in Dads Corps.  

The innovative San Diego Dads Corps program focuses on men who have high aspirations for who they want to be as fathers, including men who have been separated from their children due to family disruption, military service, taking a job in another state or another country, or due to incarceration or hospitalization.  Research shows clearly that the way each of us is fathered – whether a son or daughter – has a profound impact on who we become as adults.  When children learn from their fathers to be kind, compassionate, achieving, and confident, these qualities reverberate into a person’s future and bode well for positive relationships in adulthood.   SAY’s San Diego Dads Corps program supports dedicated San Diego men advancing their roles as fathers.

“Parenting and fathering is one of life’s greatest joys and life’s greatest opportunities for growth, as well as one of the hardest, most complicated and rewarding jobs a person can have,” says Nancy Gannon Hornberger, CEO of SAY San Diego. “Under the leadership of Laura Soto, the fathers we connect with Dads Corps all benefit when they bring their challenges forward, resolve them, learn about parenting and reflect deeply on how they are influencing and raising their children.”