AAMWA’s annual Cooking With Dad event encourages father-child bonding

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — A local group came together Saturday to highlight the importance of the relationship kids have with their fathers.

The African American Male Wellness Agency (AAMWA) hosted its annual Cooking With Dads event. This organization wants to continue to uplift Black men with its fatherhood initiative. It acts as a bridge for men to spend quality time with their kids.

The event took place at East High School and included a DJ, games and food stations where participants could make pancakes or tacos. The annual event acts as a bridge for men to spend quality time with their kids.

President of the AAMWA Kenny Hampton said it shines a light on the development of a healthy family dynamic and the fathers can enjoy the rewards of having one-on-one time with their children.

"Whenever we can bring all of our fathers together, our men, our Black dads — it's a great opportunity for us to really challenge them," Hampton said. "We did a proud dad pledge, letting them know that we're not just going to come together for this one time of the year. We're going to take this opportunity to really instill this into our week to week: time that we're going to spend with our kids."

Members of this group share the belief that it is imperative to instill this type of interaction throughout the community and those who experienced this event said they were incredibly grateful. ,

"We've heard from several dads today that just said that this meant so much for them to be able to just put the phones down and put the tablets down and spend quality time with their kids, learn how to cook some quick meals, less of the fast food, less of the microwave, and really go through the process," Hampton said.

This event was free for all who attended, and AMMAWA is looking forward to having a similar event in the spring.