A Facebook group for dads in Oakville is quickly becoming its own empire.
The Oakville Dads community celebrated the joining of their 5,000th member last night at The Kings Arms in Downtown Oakville, with drinks, live performances, and good laughs.
In 2018, Jeremy Sims founded the Oakville Dads Facebook group, a place for dads in the community to get together and look out for each other with everything from home repairs to finding buddies.
Fast forward to today, that community has translated into tens of thousands of dollars raised to support various initiatives in the community. Most recently, this included $40,000 raised in September for Oakville Meals on Wheels and Fareshare Food Bank through their annual golf tournament.
"We owe a lot of this to one of our awesome admins, Jamie Dennison," said Sims. "He tells me he drives on the weekends to deliver for the food bank; we had a chat about it with our admin team, and it made perfect sense, so they’re now one of our key benefactors."
This transition from a Facebook group to somewhat of a foundation marks a big shift in the group's significance in the community.
The group created the Oakville Dads Community Fund in partnership with the Oakville Community Foundation (OFC). OCF CEO Wendy Rinella said, "Oakville Dads is a remarkable example of how collective giving is working to make a difference in our local community."
"The Oakville Community Foundation is happy to partner with this great group of guys, and all local groups and organizations, to help them reach even more incredible local charities and impact our community for the better. We look forward to their continued growth in the years to come."
Last night, after enjoying live performances, which included live music and mind-boggling magic tricks, the members continued to bond and share laughs. After speaking to a handful of members, it’s clear that this is a safe place for them.
We asked members, "What does it mean to be an Oakville Dad to you?"
"It’s a really cool community of dads that support each other - not just with DIY tips, but also recently with mental health issues; just positive support and reinforcement," said Konrad.
"Very inclusive. This is my second in-person event, and I’ve probably met a couple dozen of the guys so far. I’m just absolutely thrilled. I want to get more involved in the community and charitable involvement, and I’m really looking forward to 2024," said Jason.
"It means that you always have ‘the guy.’ We all know guys that have ‘the guy’ whenever they have a problem. This gives you that," said Wayne.
"I use it a lot. When I need anything special, I always reach out to an Oakville dad - an electrician, plumber, any kind of work - because I know that this is somebody that I can trust to be a good person to work with," said David.
Fabrizio says, "I like to have the people, the camaraderie, being part of the community, sharing all the ideas, and all the needs. It’s been really nice, both personally and helping others."
"I like the idea of guys looking after guys, whatever that means. I’ve seen such great things between the fundraising, the camaraderie, the terrible dad jokes. It’s just a great bunch of people," said Desmond.