Letter to the Candidates/ Using Facebook/ Marital Survey/ Olympics - 8/18/08

Mon Aug 18 10:12:22 EDT 2008

- I'M BACK 
- LETTER TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
- CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN
- CREATIVE USE OF FACEBOOK
- MARITAL SATISFACTION SURVEY
- MARRIAGE AND THE 
OLYMPICS

##########################

- I'M BACK 
After two weeks away (Gramma Week), things will stay backed up
here for a bit, but I should be able to respond to everyone by the end of
the month. I appreciate your patience. I also highly recommend Gramma Week,
it's a fountain of youth - though admit I'm still dizzy from all those rides
(at the Fair).   - diane

########################

- LETTER TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Look what the California Initiative has done!  Adapt it for Letters to the
Editor, posts to candidates websites, blogs, post it on your website,
newslist, etc.  Let me know what you come up with.- diane

Dear California Healthy Marriage Supporters, CHMC's Open Letter to the
Presidential Candidates appears in today's LA Times--Orange County edition
and the Orange County Register.  The Open Letter/ad is running today to
coincide with the Civil Debate between the Presidential Candidates that will
be held tomorrow at Saddleback Church in Orange County.

Our Open Letter/ad is designed to help Senator Obama and Senator McCain
understand more about the importance of Marriage Education, and perhaps more
importantly--help thousands of Orange County readers understand more about
Marriage Education and its potential value for their lives.

I encourage you to jump on the momentum that is being created by this ad--by
writing a letter to the editors of these newspapers telling about how your
ME work is helping couples, by making contact with other media resources you
have access to, by putting this out through your newslists, linking to it on
your website, and any other creative ideas you can generate. See letter and
ad here in all its glory: http://www.camarriage.com/news/index.ashx

Or, here it is as text so you can adapt it. Thank you California!
--------------- 
Dear Mr. President-to-be,

Senator Obama, Senator McCain:  Do marriages matter to you?  We hope they
do, because they certainly matter to Orange County, and to Orange County¹s
kids. And, to all the kids in America.

Kids thrive in families where their parents have a healthy marriage. Sadly,
most couples don¹t know what it takes to have a healthy marriage.  This can
be devastating for their kids.  Plus, it costs taxpayers a bundle.  Each
divorce in our country hits taxpayers with an extra social services burden
of $30,000 per divorce.  This amounts to more than $338 Million per year to
help repair the effects of divorce in Orange County.  Across America, the
social cost of divorce is estimated to be $112 Billion each year.

Fortunately, there is Marriage Education!  Marriage Education is a
preventive, skill-based approach that teaches couples the skills for marital
success.  It¹s painless‹and fun‹and it helps couples have the kind of
relationship they want to have‹for their own lives and for the lives of
their children. Research shows that couples who take Marriage Education
classes are significantly less likely to divorce.

Marriage Education programs are alive and well here in Orange County.
Through a wide variety of Marriage Education and Relationship Skills classes
available at the California website, www.CaMarriage.com
<http://www.camarriage.com/> , we are teaching thousands of people each year
how to strengthen their marriages and families.  Over the past five years,
the number of divorce filings in Orange County has fallen by 8.8% which
saves local taxpayers $32.6 Million.  And it saves their kids from years of
problems in school, problems with their peers, problems with substance abuse
and early pregnancies, and numerous other difficulties that would complicate
their lives and cause turmoil in our communities.

Orange County is one of many counties throughout California benefiting from
the Federal appropriation that funds the Health and Human
Services‹Administration for Children and Families Healthy Marriage
Demonstration Grants.

This funding is helping families thrive, and saving our communities from the
much greater cost of family breakdown.  Orange County is grateful for this
funding.  Orange County is for Marriage Education and we hope that you are,
too! 

We thank you for coming to Orange County for the Civil Forum. We send you
both our best wishes for success in the months and years ahead.

California Healthy Marriages Coalition OC Marriage & Orange County Marriage
Resource Center

########################
- CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN

No grass grows under the California initiative's feet. I'm sharing this 1)
in case anyone in California misses the notice and wants to list their
courses and 2) to inspire other states to imitate this central listing
and M.E. advertising campaign. California is generous - they'll share their
know how, just contact them if you have questions.   - diane

> Massive Ad Campaign for CaMarriage.com Launches This Month! Don't Miss Out!
> List Your Classes Now! It's easy, and it's FREE!
> 
> To bolster Marriage Education (ME) attendance with the new Fall season of ME
> classes, California Healthy Marriages Coalition's (CHMC) "...because of ME!"
> (BOM) marketing campaign will begin in late August and last throughout
> September.  Ultramercials and internet banner ads will be geo-targeted to play
> on popular California media.  Through CHMC's various partners, billboards, bus
> boards and kiosk signs will be placed in strategic locations throughout
> California.
> 
> During a similar sized marketing campaign in February, 10-times more visitors
> visited CaMarriage.com than in the previous month.  The driving force behind
> the marketing campaign is the Find a Class feature where people can search and
> find your Marriage Education and Relationship Skills classes ...BUT, ONLY IF
> YOUR MARRIAGE EDUCATION & RELATIONSHIP SKILLS CLASSES ARE LISTED!!!
> 
> When you post your class on CaMarriage.com, you will also have the option to
> participate in CHMC's Statewide Outcome Evaluation Project. By participating
> in the Outcome Evaluation project, you can help us find out which Marriage
> Education curricula are most effective for which couples. You can also compare
> the effectiveness of YOUR Marriage Education program to others statewide. And,
> finally, the couples who participate are entered to win great prizes by simply
> participating in your Outcome Evaluation. And, remember it's FREE for all
> Californians to list their classes on CaMarriage.com! So get ahead of the
> curve!  List your classes at CaMarriage.com!
> 
> -The Web Team at CaMarriage.com
> 
> P.S. CHMC has uploaded new resources and training opportunities for:
> 
> -- CLERGY & FAITH LEADERS (How to Launch a Marriage Ministry / How to Develop
> a Marriage Ministry / The Agape Adventure)
> 
> -- THERAPISTS & COUNSELORS (New MML-Affiliated Therapist Registry / FREE MML
> Training for 50 MFT Practices)
> 
> -- MARRIAGE COALITIONS (New Public Awareness Campaign materials)
> 
> Follow the links on the homepage at CaMarriage.com!
> 
################################

- CREATIVE USE OF FACEBOOK

I don't understand Facebook and how it works, but this looks like a creative
use for free Marriage Education advertising that the rest of you might
borrow. - diane

> Ken invited you to "P.I.C.K. A Partner" on Thursday, September 18 at 7:00pm.
> 
> Ken says, "Hello All! I'm teaching a great workshop at Santiago College
> Community (SCC) next month. Please go ahead and check it out! Ken".
> 
> Event: P.I.C.K. A Partner "How to Avoid Falling in-love with a JERK!" What:
> Class Host: Ken Schaefer, father of your friend, Bethany Start Time: Thursday,
> September 18 at 7:00pm End Time: Thursday, September 18 at 9:00pm Where:
> Santiago College Community Services
> 
> To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
> http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=22562797777
> 
> Thanks, The Facebook Team
> 
########################
- MARITAL SATISFACTION SURVEY

Hi Diane, I am conducting a 10-15 minute, online, fully confidential survey
on marriage satisfaction. You take it separately from your spouse.  I am
using marriage education components so that after people take the survey,
they can access a page of FREE marriage videos and links they can watch
directly from their computer so that simply taking the survey may benefit
participants.  Folks on the list might want to see our site and pass it on
to their constituents: <http://www.pointloma.edu/marriagesurvey>

John T. Wu, Ed.D. Professor of Psychology Point Loma Nazarene University San
Diego, CA 619 849-2464 johnwu at pointloma.edu

#########################
- MARRIAGE AND THE OLYMPICS
http://www.familylifeculturewatch.com/2008/08/2008-olympics-m.html

##########################

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response.

Send submissions and comments for the listserv or for list moderator, Diane
Sollee, to: diane at smartmarriages.com  (In other words, do NOT simply hit
"reply". If you hit reply your email will disappear into cyberspace.)

This is a moderated list. Submissions and comments are read by Diane Sollee.
Please indicate if your comment is NOT to be shared with the list.  PLEASE
include your email address and/or url as part of your signature.

With thousands of subscribers, not all comments can be shared. Also realize
that opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by members of the
Coalition.

To SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, or Change your subscription address, visit:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/app/Newsletter.Subscribe

To read past posts to the listserv, visit the Archive at:
http://lists101.his.com/pipermail/smartmarriages/

13th Annual Smart Marriages® Conference, Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando,
Florida, July 6-12, 2009 (General Conference July 8-11) Pre-Conference
Training Institutes July 6-8 Post-Conference Training Institutes July 12

Shingle Creek Resort: http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/

Conference schedule, registration, & exhibit information will be posted as
it becomes available at:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/conferencedetails.html

List your program and resources on the Directory of Classes at
http://www.smartmarriages.com/directory_browse.html

Order conference audio & video CD/DVD/MP3s: 800-241-7785 or
http://www.iPlaybackSmartMarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE) Diane
Sollee, Director  5310 Belt Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015-1961
http://www.smartmarriages.com  202-362-3332