Today we’d like to introduce you to Skip Simmons.
Hi Skip, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I had, and still have today, two loving, encouraging, and supportive parents. My journey through adolescence made it clear I was more of an exception than the norm. I always enjoyed working with youth and wanted to give back, but I lived selfishly in my early twenties. That mindset began to change as I pursued my faith in Jesus. Thanks to my mom’s efforts, I was brought back to God, and my wife was introduced to God. This was in 2012-2013. We were hungry to jump into a local church and get involved. We lived a few miles from Thrive Community Church, which meets at Spruce Creek High School. We tried it out and have been there for over nine years. Around 2015, I joined a men’s small group to study the book Wild at Heart by John Eldridge. Chapter 4, The Wound, explores the relationship with your biological father and how the wounds formed by that relationship can determine your path in life. Many guys shared that night about rough experiences they had growing up: divorce, abuse, threats, alcoholism, etc. I believe God made it clear that night: this is what you are supposed to be doing, sharing experiences I had with my father and kids who are not as lucky. I went home that night, got on my laptop, and sent my resume to any non-profit I could find. One responded. I spent the next year working at the Boys & Girls Club of Volusia/Flagler Counties. Do I want to work in the non-profit world? Do I want to work with children?
During this time, I crossed paths with Byron Clark. We had similar passions, dreams, and goals. He was so impacted by mentors growing up he said he may have taken his own life as a teen had it not been for mentors in his life. In the fall of 2016, Byron asked if I would like to help him start a non-profit to help fatherless boys. I had no idea how we would do this, but I was in. I went home and explained everything to my wife, Raquel. She has been supportive since day 1. Byron and I spent the next six months putting together a Board of Directors, applying for 501(C)3 status, naming the organization, and so much more. No Longer Fatherless was established in October 2016, and we earned 501(C)3 status in April 2017. In 2017, Byron moved back to Kansas City to be with family, and I took over as the organization’s leader.
We held our first mentor training class at the beginning of 2018. At the time, the organization was entirely volunteer-led. I was a realtor, worked part-time for Thrive Church, and was leading NLF as a volunteer. I was disappointed in my leadership during that year. I was not hosting as many events or mentor trainings as planned. I met with my wife and other people I respect, searching for answers on making No Longer Fatherless my top priority. Everyone I met with agreed that NLF should be my focus. Raquel and I had conversations about the risk involved. What happens if we ultimately fail? We thought that in the worst-case scenario, we wouldn’t raise enough money, the mission would fail, we would burn up our savings, we would have to sell our house, and we would move back in with our parents. We weren’t going to die; we weren’t going to end up homeless. As a husband and wife, we accepted the worst-case scenario but believed God would sustain us.
We came up with the idea to start a salary fundraiser. I met with people already supporting our mission to ask if they would consider donating directly toward a salary for me to quit my job and pursue this full-time. These meetings could have been better, asking money for myself. My first meeting was with my longtime friend, Justin Clig. I got through my pitch, and he immediately asked, “How much do you need?” This put a little wind in my sails. Over the next few months, I put together about $25,000 in commitments for my first year’s salary. I became the first official employee of No Longer Fatherless in the summer of 2019. Each year, we improve as an organization and continue to impact as many lives as possible.
We aim to recruit, train, and match mentors with young men (6-19YO) growing up without a father figure in Volusia & Flagler Counties. Through 1 to 1 weekly relational mentoring, group mentoring, and life skill classes, No Longer Fatherless will improve social & emotional behaviors, performance at school, leadership, decision-making, career development, community involvement, and more! The goal is to help our youth become men of high character, committed fathers, and leaders within our community & country.
Currently, we have 50 mentors matched with 50 young men throughout Volusia & Flagler County. We are in the midst of a new mentor training class with 8 men who will soon be matched with boys from our waiting list. Our current waiting list contains 27 young men ready to be matched with a mentor.
2023 was a breakthrough year for our organization. At the end of 2022, we held a board meeting in December, where I told our leadership I was at my limit and needed help. It was time to add a part-time employee. Our leadership decided we would take the next couple of months to ensure this was financially responsible and search for candidates. By March 2023, we hired a part-time support specialist, Ernie Simmons, who was willing to help wherever needed. Ernie, also known as my dad, is the man who helped inspire this journey toward helping youth grow up without a father figure—an extraordinary full-circle moment.
Shortly after Ernie was hired, we were contacted by an organization facilitating a grant by DCF. They encouraged us to apply. We only had a few weeks to complete a massive proposal. This was also planning our 1st annual golf tournament fundraiser. Is it possible? If we had not hired Ernie the month before, I would not have been able to even think about it. I contacted one of our mentors, Michael Moore, with whom I had several conversations the previous year. He mentioned several times that if any opportunities arise to volunteer or work for NLF, please keep him in mind. Many nights, Michael and I tackled the grant proposal together, working into the early morning. We submitted the proposal right on time. Then, we waited.
Delay after delay had us waiting into August 2023 with no answer. One morning, I received an email. They posted the awards. I sat at my kitchen table as I read through the list of awardees: St. Lucie County, Palm Beach County, Jacksonville. I began to lose hope, thinking they had not awarded NLF. Then I saw No Longer Fatherless about halfway down the list. My jaw dropped, and a wave of relief hit me. We were awarded our first major grant. This grant funded the hire of Michael Moore as full-time Program Director and funding toward our three programs. We are equipped with more organizational capacity than ever before.
We also trained a record number of mentors in 2023. We hope to smash that record with a goal of 40 new mentors in 2024. We are well on our way with 8 so far. This has been an incredible, exciting, and terrifying journey so far. This is just a brief look into our history. So many great stories of impact have come out of the great mentors we have. Without God’s leadership, this organization would not exist; we give Him all the credit.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is more like a Baja off-road race. There have been plenty of obstacles and struggles along the way. The one that instantly comes to mind is Covid. I became the first NLF employee in the summer of 2019. 2020 would be our year to explode, showing the world we are here to stay. We planned multiple fundraisers, a dozen events for our mentors & boys, four mentor training classes, and more. We had a Board meeting as Covid talk took over the globe. We had little funds left in our account and had to cancel everything shortly. Tears streamed down my face during the meeting. I thought I would be job hunting the next day.
As he has done throughout this journey, God sustained us. We received a small PPP loan to sustain us in the short term. Multiple families contacted us and gave their stimulus checks to No Longer Fatherless. Once we could begin operating again, we hosted a mentor training class, which several men joined. One new mentor, Mario Montoya, starts asking many questions about the organization toward the end of the class. How do we raise money? Where does the money go? How does the organization work? I answered all the questions, and after the class, he handed me a folded check for $5,000. It was our most significant donation to date. I could not believe it. 2020 transformed from a potential disaster to success, thanks to those who believe in our Mission. Obstacles and challenges are opportunities to grow and improve. We are a much better organization today than we were in 2018. Struggles or failures have allowed us to improve our programs, policies, and procedures.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am the Executive Director of No Longer Fatherless.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I have said from day 1 that you can’t hit a home run without swinging. Take the risk, take the leap of Faith, and pursue your passion; you may be regretful if you don’t.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nolongerfatherless.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/nolongerfatherless
- Facebook: facebook.com/nolongerfatherless
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLKPOAhGHGd5hXqPLm-TnpA
