Our History

We’ve been helping fathers in central South Carolina for more than 20 years

We’re a part of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, one of the nation’s longest-running, largest and most-effective networks of fatherhood programs.

Our early work in fatherhood engagement began as three separate programs:

• Fathers Matter founded in Fairfield County in 1998
• Columbia Fatherhood Engagement established by the Columbia Urban League in 1999
• Fathers with Pride, founded by Wiley Kennedy Foundation to serve Richland County in 2000, expanding to Lexington in 2006

These three projects were funded by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina and operated as independent 501(c)(3) organizations. In 2006, in order to expand services, meet new needs and better use resources, these organizations became the founding fatherhood organizations of Midlands Fatherhood Coalition.

Today we provide fatherhood programs for fathers and families in Fairfield, Lexington, Richland, and Sumter counties.