Simplified: Sioux Falls Stroll Club started last spring with a goal to build community and give dads a place to connect. Over the last year, it's grown to impact dozens of fathers in the area.
Why it matters
- Club founder Elliot Nathan said the club represents, in some ways, a generational shift in the role dads play in parenting. Dads today tend to take a more active parenting role, and the Sioux Falls Stroll Club is a place where they can find community and camaraderie amid the often lonely years of parenting young children.
- Nathan, a Sioux Falls father of two, said he took inspiration from a similar group in Brooklyn, New York called the Brooklyn Stroll Club – an organziation that now impacts more than a thousand dads.
- The Sioux Falls Stroll Club meets monthly in various parks throughout town for walks with dads and their kids. Strollers are optional, despite the name, and Nathan said some older kids will tag along on bikes or scooters. In addition, the club has started doing more dad-only events focused on mental health or learning practical skills like hair braiding.
"What stands out about this group is how each dad genuinely cares about becoming the best father he can be," said Wes Vis, stroll club member. "Sharing the journey of fatherhood with other dads is something every father needs in their life, and I can’t wait to see the impact this club will have on our community."
Tell me more
For Mike Edgette, a Sioux Falls father of three, said the club has been not just a way to connect with other dads, but also a way to connect with the broader community.
- The group has received donations from local businesses including Flyboy Donuts and The Human Bean. They've also held meetings at various businesses like R Wine Bar and Remedy Brewing Co.
"It's been fun to see how inviting the community has been to help support something like this, too," Edgette said. "It's just made the whole thing easier more fun and easy to help it grow."
Edgette also said the stroll club is incredibly inviting, and he encouraged other dads to come check it out.
"It's easy to find people to connect with, and worst case scenario, you get to go do something fun with your kid," he said.
How can I get involved?
The Sioux Falls Stroll Club shares upcoming events on its Facebook and Instagram pages. The best way to support them is to show up to events and join in on the community.
At the end of the day, the hope is that dads can have a place to feel less alone in their parenting journey.
"The stroll club is not solving male loneliness singlehandedly, but I would love it to be a space where dads are looking forward to, 'Oh hey I have that event. I’m getting out of the house with the kids,'" Nathan said.
