Adonis’s commitment to ECP in its mission of breaking cycles and building futures is a value he shares personally as a both a father and a facilitator.
“You can make money anywhere, but I really agree with what ECP stands for and the whole idea of trying to help youth improve themselves as parents and providing resources and tools to be better parents. A lot of them tend to fall back on how they were raised. More times than not that’s not the most appropriate way to raise a child in this day and age.”
He reveals that a flexible schedule is vital for many of today’s parenting professionals and fortunately something ECP has been able to provide:
“The staff of course is very accommodating to someone who works full-time. They give opportunities to work non-traditional hours which I really appreciate.”
Adonis often co-facilitates, most recently at the open site Power to Parent class held at People for People Charter school on Thursday evenings. One of the unique abilities he displays is making the classroom a comfortable, welcoming environment where students aren’t judged and can receive real-life examples of what’s needed to successfully co-parent from a father’s perspective. In classes that are predominantly attended by young mothers, Adonis makes the extra effort to make sure the young fathers that do attend are valued and their voices are heard. Adonis’s strength is leading open, honest discussion. He reveals the importance of being able to refer to the curriculum, but also implementing a little humor and being engaging and accessible.
So where exactly is Mr. Adonis? If he’s not fighting rush hour traffic on the Ben Franklin Bridge between jobs to facilitate the open site, he’s spending time with his daughters at one of the many cultural events that Philadelphia has to offer:
“I like opening them up to new things. Looking at them when they are seeing something for the first time and learning something for the first time and really taking them outside of their comfort zone so they can be well-rounded individuals.”
In addition, Adonis is committed to his daughters’ education sitting on the board at the Pan American Charter School as a parent representative.
“It allows me the opportunity to give them a parent’s perspective on how the school is doing whether it’s how they communicate with parents or how the students feel about the curriculum.”
No matter where you can find Mr. Adonis is at any given hour of the day, we are proud to say that for few hours each week he is representing Educating Communities for Parenting and we as well as our students are grateful to have him as a member of our facilitator family.