Dads on duty: The Brisbane heroes going the extra mile for their little ones

Meet the family guys redefining fatherhood. They volunteer for everything from tuckshop to helping out in the classroom and dance school catering. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chris Lynch is fired up.

The tuckshop he helps to run at his daughters’ dance school has raised almost $30,000 towards their US tour in late September.

“We work in the tuckshop to have this money to spend on costumes, land travel and passes to help get the kids to America every two years,” he says.

A full-time police officer in Brisbane by day, Chris, 44, has been volunteering at Happyfeet on the Gold Coast for three years where his two youngest daughters, Jhet, 10, and Kate, 8, attend classes.

After the parents who used to run the tuckshop left, Chris got chatting to another mum at the school one Saturday and they decided to take matters into their own hands.

Before long they were serving curries, tacos, toasted sandwiches, nachos, hot dogs, nuggets, hot chips and noodles up to twice a week.

Christopher Lynch is a policeman and dance dad, running catering for his daughters' dance school on the Gold Coast. Pictured with two of his daughters, Jhet, 10, and Kate, 8. Photo: AAP/Russell Shakespeare

Prior to running the tuckshop, Chris also helped out at concerts when his two eldest daughters, Jayde, 16, and Holly, 12, danced at the school, too.

“I like to break the mould. I don’t like sticking to the rule of mums do this and dads do that. The biggest thing I don’t like is ‘you’re a mum, so you’ve got to be in the tuckshop’. Why does it have to be gender specific?” he says.

Chris is one of the growing number of dads putting their hands up at their kids’ schools, sporting clubs and community groups.

Whether helping out in the classroom, leading the Scouts club or wrapping sushi rolls like a superhero in your kid’s school tuckshop like Chris Hemsworth in a YouTube video (below) that went viral earlier this year, more dads are stepping up when it comes to volunteering.

“As a dad I’ve always wanted to be involved and see what the kids do, regardless of whether I had boys or girls,” Chris says.

As a child, growing up in Victoria, Chris played Aussie rules with his dad coaching the team.

“He moved to football manager, he was the linesman, he’d paint the field, all of that sort of stuff, so it was in my DNA. I want to be involved.”

Although finding time to volunteer while working a demanding job can seem almost impossible, Chris found it helped him find balance, improve his overall wellbeing and bring him closer to his wife, Nillin, and their kids.

RELATED READS:

From scrubbing toilets to leading roles

Proof motherhood is a laughing matter

Brisbane made inventions taking the world by storm

“Being in the police service is stressful work and I was getting totally consumed with it. I needed a different avenue and the tuckshop venture put me in another headspace and helped me take my mind off it and be involved with the kids more,” he says.

Craig Edmonds, 48, of Wilston was in a similar place when he was working as a chef and running his own restaurant.

After opting to sell up, he became a stay-at-home dad six years ago and hasn’t looked back. “Working as a chef you don’t get to see your kids, so I decided it was time to put my family life first. It works for us,” he says.

Craig Edmond with children Jasper, 9, and Misha, 7. Craig volunteers in the tuck shop at Wilston State School. Picture: AAP/Richard Waugh

A year ago his wife Emma, who works full-time in human resources, suggested he help out at the tuckshop where their kids Jasper, 9, and Mischa, 7, go to school.

“I might get a movie contract out of it. I’ll be Thor 2,” he says, not realising there have already been three Thor movies.

“Shows how much I’ve been out,” he laughs. After tuckshop duty, he and the other dads helping out will occasionally head out for a meal before picking up the kids. Craig also volunteers twice a week in the classroom, this year helping out with maths rotations and building robots in technology.

Craig and his children in the Wilston State School tuckshop. Picture: AAP/Richard Waugh

“It’s great just helping out, having a bit of a laugh, meeting some of the other parents and getting to know the kids. It makes a difference to the day,” he says.

For Josh Adams, 44, of Jindalee, volunteering has always been about spending more time with his three children Zacariah, 19, Georgia, 15, and Oscar, 8.

“I love being with my kids, I’ve always wanted to be a dad, even when I was 16 and people asked me what I wanted to be, I said I wanted to be a dad,” he says.

Josh Adams is the volunteer leader of the local Scouts club. Pictured with his son Oscar, 7. Photo: AAP/Russell Shakespeare

All up, Josh has been volunteering for 12 years, spending five years with the rugby club as coach, linesman, ground official and fundraising helper, three years with the netball club as coach and president, five years as basketball coach for all three kids, and two years most recently with the Scouts — all while working full-time in IT.

After telling his wife, Emma, that he wouldn’t sign up to anything when attending Oscar’s first Scouts meeting, he returned home with the news he was the new treasurer.

“My wife thinks I’m crazy, most people think I’m crazy, but it is fun. It’s just great hanging out with the kids. They’ve got no hang ups, they’ve got no preconceptions, they just want to do things that are fun and it’s a big difference to your normal working day,” he says.

Josh and Oscar Adams. Photo: Russell Shakespeare

A year later, he put his hand up to be a co-leader, and in the tradition of Scouts chose his animal name, Yowie. Alongside “Bear”, he leads the boys and girls as they climb trees, make fires, go hiking, build a community garden and more.

“I’ve done a lot of camping and I like getting out and about. Growing up in the ’80s we did a lot of things kids don’t do these days,” he says.

For Josh, getting to know the community is another big plus of volunteering.

“I run into my son’s friends on the bus going to work now and still talk to them about when we played certain basketball games and grand finals. It continues on. I’m lucky to be old enough to see that now. It’s a pretty special thing and you don’t get that unless you put yourself out there,” he says.