Marriage 911/Call for Grants/Michigan/Colorado/California - 4/05

Wed Apr 6 22:19:30 EDT 2005

- MARRIAGE 911 
- CALL FOR CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT APPLICATIONS
- HOMETOWN MARRIAGE HEROES IN LENAWEE COUNTY MICHIGAN
- SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY MARRIAGE INITIATIVE UPDATE
- UNDERGRAD MARRIAGE EDUCATION IN DENVER

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- MARRIAGE 911 

 Fox to air 'Marriage 911' spinoff of 'Nanny 911' family on April 25

UPI News Service, 04/05/2005

The Fox network is gearing up for "Marriage 911," a TV special built around
a family that proved too much for the nanny in "Nanny 911."

The April 25 special will feature Jamie Greene, a licensed marriage, family
and child therapist for 16 years, working with Chris and Laura King whose
marriage is under substantial strain, Zap2it.com said Tuesday.

The Kings have five children and numerous pets.

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- CALL FOR CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT APPLICATIONS

Call for submission of capacity-building grant applications by faith based
and community non-profit organizatoins that have not previously received a
federal competitive grant. Grants awarded will be between $5,000 and
$50,000.  Matching funds and cost sharing are not required.

Applicant organizations must be engaged in one or more of the following
activities:
-  Promoting stable and healthy marriages and families.
- Promoting risk avoidance strategies and behaviors for prevention of
HIV/AIDS infection.
-  Fostering youth development, youth empowerment, and character education
activities and  programs.
-  Bolstering the protective influences of child connectedness with parents
and schools to support  keeping children from engaging in unhealthy risk
behaviors.  
-  Promoting a consistent, comprehensive risk avoidance message to youth for
the five leading  unhealthy risk behaviors: alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco,
and violence.  

FOR INFORMATION: http://www.youthdevelopment.org/articles/pr050501.htm

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- HOMETOWN MARRIAGE HEROES IN LENAWEE COUNTY MICHIGAN
Diane,
Did you see the article in the April, 2005, edition of Citizen magazine, put
out by Focus on the Family?  Page 28 -- 29 is a two page article under the
heading "Hometown Heros" about what we're doing here in Lenawee County.
I've had several calls from people about starting programs in their areas as
a result.  I've suggested to all of them, among other things, that (1) they
go to the Smart Marriage Conference and gave them the information, and (2)
they contact Mike McManus.

I thought you might like an update on what we've been doing in Lenawee
County.  Here is the report we prepared for our local supporters:

Report to Supporters, 2004
For Marriages That Work

The year 2004 marked the best year ever both in activities and fund raising
for Marriages That Work. We raised $15,535.25 in cash donations with an
additional $1,566 in "in-kind" donations. This is nearly three times our
previous best year. In our efforts to raise funds we have been able to
greatly expand the number of individuals and institutions which provide
financial support. Indeed, 12 of our 19 supporters are new.

A great deal has also been done in 2004 in our efforts to support marriage
in Lenawee County. These include:

. We have become an intern site for Adrian College. A student from the
College has been assigned to do research on marriage and write four articles
for the Daily Telegram.

. We have met with representatives of LISD, the Adrian, Madison, and Onsted
Public Schools about introducing the Connections relationship program to all
county public schools. We have developed a budget and a working plan for
implementing this idea. We intend to raise about $15,000 per year for each
of the next 5 years to finance this effort. We have the assistance of
members of the business community to help solicit funding. (As of April 1,
2005, we have raised $4,000 toward this goal.)

. We have continued presenting PREP®, the communications and conflict
resolution program, on a regular basis.

. We have continued writing weekly articles for the Daily Telegram to
provide the public with information to help strengthen marriages. These 600
word articles have been well received by both the public and local
counseling agencies, some of whom have gone so far as to post copies on
their waiting room bulletin boards.

. We have contracted with the local office of the Michigan Family
Independence Agency to provide direct services to their clients. These
services would be to teach information and skills to help strengthen the
relationships their clients enter. We will be offering three programs:
PREP®, How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk, and Smart Step-Families. These are all
proven courses. Since FIA will provide funding for these programs, this will
become a self-funding project. We met with the Lenawee County staff of FIA
(the Director, Assistant Director and about 28 social workers) on January 4,
2005, to outline the programs. We hope to work out the remaining
administrative details (billing procedures, attendance reports, etc.) during
the next month. We should be able to start receiving referrals by May.

. We were able to make a presentation before the Lenawee County Medical
Society about the health benefits of marriage and, conversely, the
detrimental effects of divorce on the health of the adults involved and
their children.

. We have made new contacts with three additional churches, Trenton Hills
United Brethren, (Maple Ave., Adrian), Faith Baptist Church (Hunt Road,
Adrian), and the Tecumseh Church of the Nazarene (North Union Street,
Tecumseh) for venues to present PREP® and as possible assistance in fund
raising in 2005.

. We have worked out a partnership with Blissfield United Brethren to have
them sponsor and administer our Prayer Partner Project to support newly
weds. (The amount of cash donations listed above includes $117.06 which was
paid by the church for Prayer Partner materials.) We have also worked out a
partnership with Guided By Grace, the Christian bookstore in Adrian, to give
discounts to those participating in the prayer project.

. We had several meetings with members of the local business community
regarding fund raising. We learned two basic points. First, fund raising
efforts need to be focused on specific programs, not the general mission of
Marriages That Work. Businesses want to know the particulars of who is going
to be helped, how they will be helped, and what are the expected outcomes.
Second, marriage, by itself, is too narrow an issue to attract funding from
many businesses. Both Mr. Richard DeVries, President and CEO of Bank of
Lenawee, and Mr. David Hickman, President of United Bank and Trust, strongly
suggested that we look for a name with broader appeal. We, therefore, have
had the name Family Matters of Southeast Michigan approved as an assumed
name for Marriages That Work, through the State. Although the programs will
remain the same, when it appears appropriate, they will be offered under the
new name.

. We have met with local counselors in private agencies about having their
counselors refer clients to PREP®, How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk, and Step
Family programs.

. We have made the initial contacts with business owners in what might be
referred to as the "wedding industry." We hope to create partnerships so
that those businesses are not simply encouraging great weddings, but also
great marriages. The goal is to have them use the motto "We want to help you
have a great wedding ... once. And a great marriage for a lifetime."

. We had a booth at the Bridal Expo at the Christian Family Centre as we
have in the past. This has proven to be a valuable way of getting our
message out.

We are excited about the prospects of the new year. As we begin to see some
of the fruits of our efforts we believe the community will be stronger and
marriages in Lenawee County will be healthier. We greatly appreciate your
help and involvement.

Yours truly,
James Sheridan
www.marriagedoneright.com

Judge Jim Sheridan will present a workshop at the Smart Marriages Dallas
Conference and invites you to visit his exhibit booth "Marriage Done Right".

> 308 - Friday, June 24, DALLAS
> Sex and Romance in the Biblical Marriage
> Hon Jim Sheridan, JD, MBA
> Scripture describes marriage as a dynamic relationship between equals filled
> with passion and love. Learn how to put this into practice with disagreements,
> sex and the realities of lifelong marriage.

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- SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY MARRIAGE INITIATIVE UPDATE

April 2005

Get Ready for Phase II of the Sacramento Healthy Marriage Project
Beginning in May

What happens after the 10 Great Dates?
Do you want to build a stronger Marriage Ministry in your church?  Well,
Phase II of the Healthy Marriage Project will help you do just that.  Phase
II involves training people to lead Relationship Enhancement classes and
supporting people in leading the Third Option support groups.

There will be a meeting to discuss the details.  Everyone is welcomed.
Come join the effort to reduce the divorce rate in Sacramento.  Even if you
Haven't done the 10 Great Dates, we want you to join us. . . .

Pick a date:  May 16, 2005 or May 25, 2005 or June 2, 2005 from 7:00 to
9:00.

There's still room in our Relationship Enhancement (RE) workshop
Join in the fun and learn highly effective skills that improve
communication and conflict resolution within your marriage.  The workshop is
scheduled for Aril 2nd and 16th at First Covenant Church in Sacramento.  The
cost for this two-session workshop is only $50 per couple.
For the first time child care is available.  Spread the word.

10 Great Dates
This month, three churches have joined us which means that we're only 2
churches away from reaching our goal of having the 10 Great Dates in 40
different locations.  Currently we have 200 couples participating in the 10
Great Dates, with a goal of 500 couples!

Help us promote healthy and successful marriages!
The 10 Great Dates program is still available to any organization that would
like to participate.  The program schedule is flexible and can be arranged
to fit your organization.  Keep in mind the more of us that start our
programs this Spring the stronger impact we have on the Greater Sacramento
community.

Can't join this year?  Put the 10 Great Dates on your calendar for next
year.  Our goal is to make this a yearly event in the greater Sacramento
area.

How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk or Jerkette
The Sacramento Healthy Marriage Project is starting a new pilot project.
How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk or its other name: Premarital Interpersonal
Choices and Knowledge Training Program.  Come join the class, send the
singles you know who could use some help, or see if you would like this for
your congregation or group.

This program will help predict what a person will be like in marriage-- will
help you develop fairly realistic expectations about he person you someday
marry. 

Financial Support
A Huge thanks to Barbara Stern for her major contribution to the Sacramento
Healthy Marriage Project.  With this money we will be able to begin our
training for Relationship Enhancement Instructors.

You too can make a contribution to the Project. The Sacramento Healthy
Marriage Project acquired a temporary fiscal sponsor, the Episcopal
Community Service of Northern California.  This will allow us to accept
donations while we form our own 501©3 organization.  You may now make a tax
deductible contribution to the Sacramento Healthy Marriage Project through
networkforgood.org.  Click the donation button, follow the search to
Episcopal Community Service of Northern California.  Then designate Healthy
Marriage Project.

A BIG THANKS TO:
Warehouse Christian Ministry in Roseville, Light of the Valley
Lutheran in Elk Grove and Celtic Cross Presbyterian for joining our team.
We appreciate everyone and your involvement!  We are growing because of the
tremendous help we have received from the media, churches and organizations,
and of course, the couples.
&#61514;Thanks to Henry Wells of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, KKFS and
KFIA!  Having Dr. Curtis on the radio shows helped get the word out on how
churches can get involved to help lower the divorce rate in the Sacramento
County.

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- UNDERGRAD MARRIAGE EDUCATION IN DENVER

Hi Diane:
It is encouraging to know that others across the country are successfully
teaching marriage at the undergraduate level.  In Denver, we are teaching
marriage education in our Human Services Department, at the American
Pathways University.  There are two concentrations offered: Addiction
Counseling, and Marriage and Family Counseling and Education.  We are also
finalizing a concentration in Domestic Violence.

Our sessions feature the following programs:
- PREP
- Couple Communication, and
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families
- Dr. Stosny's Compassion Program
- The Family Wellness Program.
- The Flag Page Assessment (Larry Bilotta), and
- Pat Love's Enneagram Type Profiling.

The enrollment of 62 included students who came from as far away as
California.  They are all looking forward to receiving credit for their
first undergraduate course in Marriage and Family Counseling and Education,
and/or credit for a state approved Certified Addiction Counselor, 21 hour
elective in Marriage/Family Systems and Addiction.  Finally, they will
receive certification for basic training in the area of Marriage and Family
Counseling and Education, supported by at least two of county's Departments
of Human Services, Denver, and El Paso.

If anyone is interested in knowing more about American Pathways University,
please invite them to visit our web site at  <http://www.APUDenver.org> .

Marjorie Lewis, PhD

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