The first Father’s Day Pledge was held in NYC on June 2010 as a collaboration between NYC Council Member Julissa Ferreras and Quentin Walcott, Co-Executive Director of CONNECT, Inc. It struck a resonant chord with men of all ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. In 2014, the Pledge went national, and was immediately replicated in more than 50 cities across the United States. The credit for this nationwide adoption belongs to former Rochester (NY) Councilman Adam McFadden, former President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) and National Father’s Day Pledge Co-Chair Ineabelle Geena Cruz, Heels of Greatness/SAFER.
Today the Pledge is an opportunity for fathers, men, young men, elected officials, city activists and community leaders to join in a call to action to end all violence —understanding that violence affects us all, in every zip code, every ethnicity, every religion, and every gender either directly or through people we know. We encourage fathers, father figures, and men to take the pledge with their partners and families.