A REDDITCH charity which has helped fathers build strong relationships with their sons for more than ten years is set to close next month.
The driving-mind behind Boys2Men, Phil Williams, announced the closure of the charity in line with his retirement earlier this week.
But the work of the charity, which is expressed through its strap line – ‘nurturing lads by empowering dads’ – will be taken on by different organisations.
“Two courses from Boys2Men will be run by J.P Alternative Education Company and Worcestershire County Council Family Learning,” said Phil.
“This includes our Key Stage 2 course based on junk modeling and social games known as ‘Dads and Lads’.”
Over the years the charity, based in the Ecumenical Centre on Evesham Walk, has benefited from an enthusiastic and committed group of leaders.
Many of them started off by attending the course with their sons.
Phil said: “The charity was set up after a conversation I had with a local headteacher.
“I asked him what was one of the biggest issues his pupils faced and he told me it was a ‘lack of male role models’ for young children, particularly boys.
“He inspired me to set up a meeting with parents and teachers to work out how we could tackle the issue.”
From there Boys2Men was born and it has since gone on to help children improve their self-esteem, education and relationships.
Phil added: “A sincere thanks to all who have been involved in the Boys2Men journey whether as teachers, dads, leaders, trustees or some of our valuable supporters.
“It has been a privilege to work with so many families and people who want to make a difference to families in Worcestershire.”
