He helps kids and dads bond

RALEIGH -- It ended up changing his life, but the day that Matthew Strickland dropped by the YMCA on Hillsborough Street, he thought he was only running an errand.

As a student at N.C. State, Strickland helped organize a toy drive at his fraternity house. While delivering the toys to the Y, he casually asked if there were any job openings. Soon, he was working there part-time, doing everything from driving a bus to helping with tutoring programs.

Today, Strickland, known affectionately as "Moose," is one of the most visible employees of the YMCA of the Triangle, and is recognized by 7-year-old admirers across the community.

Strickland, 31, directs the Y-Guides and Princesses program, designed primarily for kids in grades 1-3 and their dads. Father-child pairings form small tribes that meet regularly in each other's homes; then tribes come together for group outings such as the camping excursion happening this weekend at Camp Kanata, outside Wake Forest.

The program provides structured one-on-one time for fathers and their kids. With a Native American theme, the kids and dads wear vests and accumulate patches for tasks accomplished, and everyone comes up with an alter ego. That's why all the kids know Strickland as "Moose."

Although it feels like a throwback to an earlier time, the program is wildly successful. The TriangleY-Guides and Princesses is the largest such group in the country, with about 13,000 dads and kids. Strickland keeps the whole thing moving, emceeing campfire nights, singing silly songs and organizing weekend getaways.

"He makes things so fun," says 8-year-old Samantha Simpson, camping this weekend with her father, Keith.

Dads sometimes tell him that he has the greatest job in the world.

"I agree," Strickland invariably responds.

Although his boisterous enthusiasm for the programs pegs him as a Y-lifer, he isn't. As a child growing up in the Triangle, he participated in occasional YMCA programs but didn't always like them.

One of his most vivid memories is of a swim class he took at the Y on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. At one point, Strickland, then 4 or so, was set to put on a show for parents with the other swimmers.

But the pressure to perform in front of a crowd was too great, and he wouldn't come out of the locker room. His dad had to fetch him.

"I was such a shy kid," he says.

After considering pre-med or education N.C. State, Strickland eventually settled on majoring in sociology "as a means to an end, so I could get my ticket punched and get a full-time job at the Y."

The degree might be in sociology, but, he says with a smile, "I tell everyone I majored in the Y."

Today, it's not uncommon for Strickland to lead a campfire sing-along for more than 2,000 people, a task that doesn't unnerve him a bit.

"I don't look at it as this massive thing," he says. "I look at it as one dad or child at a time."

With so many kids and dads in the program, multiple weekend outings are required to accommodate them all. In the spring, Strickland makes frequent trips to Y camps in Pamlico County, near the coast.

Weekend wanderer

He figures he spends about half his weekends away from home each year. His wife, Allison, and dog, Jack, regularly join him on the outings.

"If I didn't," Allison says, "I'd never see him."

But she enjoys watching him interact with the dads and kids.

"I love it," she says. "I'm proud of the job he does."

Father figure to thousands

And while the couple has not yet started a family, both partners look forward to the day he can be a tribe member with his own children. Until then, Moose is happy having an impact on the thousands of kids who participate in the program.

It's a job that never really ends. Strickland, who seldom leaves the house without putting on a fleece vest, is easily recognizable around town. To the elementary-school set, he's a celebrity.

On the outings, Strickland spends a fair amount of time acting silly, goofing around with the kids and persuading dads to forget about work for a while and get loose.

"He's truly out for the relationship between the dad and the child," says Bobby Harris, the program's former director, adding that Strickland is skilled at acting childlike, not childish.

During the group's annual daddy/daughter dances, for instance, Strickland has been known to grab the microphone and sing along with the music, which often means tunes that appeal to 8-year-old girls. Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are two current favorites.

So how does a 31-year-old man know the words to such teeny-bopper fare?

"It's easy," Strickland says. "You just download it onto your iPod and go to it."

Latest Comment View all comments

Images