Celebrating Dads Who Make a Difference on Father's Day

Father’s Day is celebrated one day a year, but fathers have an impact on their children every day. Fathers do more than “bring home the bacon,” but there is no denying that their financial contributions to their children are important. State child support agencies know how important financial support is to families, and corporate partners like Conduent are a great help with receiving and processing those very important payments for children. 

However, we know that this is not all there is to being a father. In recent years, fatherhood programs around the nation have emphasized other facets of fatherhood such as supporting emotional and mental development and building strong parent-child relationships.    

Numerous studies of these program outcomes have been conducted, and on this point they all agree: Dads make a difference!

In honor of those dads who make a difference, several Conduent employees shared memories of their own dads:

Driving home one night on a rare rainy day in Southern California, my dad came across two teenage runaways who were hitch-hiking on the side of the freeway. His nature was to always help, so he picked them up, took them to our house, and gave them shelter for the night. In the morning he fed them, talked to them, and eventually convinced them to call their parents to pick them up. I was 12 years old. I watched in amazement. I will never forget this.

My dad was a quiet man who never talked about helping others. When he passed away, a number of people lined up at the funeral home to tell us how he helped them and how he visited them in difficult times. I had no idea that my father had helped all of those people. Some of them were friends my own age. I was humbled to receive those compliments for him. 

Growing up I used to think my father was a celebrity! A trip to the grocery store would take hours because he made sure he spoke to everyone in the store. I would see faces light up when they saw my father. Later I learned that he wasn’t a celebrity; he was just a man that loved life and everyone in it. He was an amazing man.

Happy Father’s Day to all dads who are making a difference! And thank you to Conduent employees for sharing these memories. Conduent is proud to be a partner in the child support program, supporting children, parents, and families.