Getting the word out: CNN/New Parents/ Hmong/Infidelity Close Calls/ Animoto- 7/27/09

Tue Jul 28 09:45:21 EDT 2009

This one is all about getting Marriage Strengthening info to the public.
Using the media....- diane

- RIDING THE CNN WAVE
- PROGRAM HELPS YOUNG COUPLES WITH PARENTHOOD
- MML FOR HMONG 
- JULIE ON CARDER'S CLOSE CALLS
- THAT WEDDING PROCESSION
-  MARC PAYAN TECH INFO

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- RIDING THE CNN WAVE
Below is a great example of what I was talking about when I encouraged you
to take advantage of the CNN Black in America wave as a way to get info
about your programs to the public.  Way to go, Carolyn!  - diane

Hi Diane,
This article appeared Sunday in the Sacramento Bee.  It was the result of us
contacting the Bee about Nisa Muhammad's appearance on CNN.  I asked if they
wanted to know what we were doing for Black Marriages in Sacramento.

Carolyn Curtis
Executive Director
Healthy Marriage Project
www..SacMarriage.org
------------------------------

- PROGRAM HELPS YOUNG COUPLES WITH PARENTHOOD
Sacramento Bee
Jul. 26, 2009

Sitting quietly along the edges of three tables forming a "U," 17 men  some
fidgeting, some rocking infants in their arms  listened.

It was the women's turn to talk.

In a smaller circle on the inside of the tables sat their fiancées and
girlfriends, who, speaking with strong voices and lowered eyes, recounted
their earliest relationships with the opposite sex.

"I love my father because he's my father, but I don't like him. He wasn't
good to my mother," said Jameen Abernathy, a 22-year-old mother from south
Sacramento who is eight months pregnant with her second child.

Abernathy described learning not to trust or count on men at an early age.
The other women nodded emphatically as Christopher Hodges, her fiancé,
looked on in silence.

But, she said, she's trying to change.

The Flourishing Families Program is a free program sponsored by the Healthy
Marriage Project. The project is a local organization that helps pregnant
couples and new parents learn relationship skills. The class helps couples
practice those skills, said Norm Rogers, educational services director for
the program.

Skills include conflict resolution, communication and money management, he
said.

The 15-hour program over three sessions is geared toward low-income,
unmarried couples who are pregnant or parenting a child up to three months
of age. Upon completion, the couples receive a certificate and $100, which,
program specialist Vallerie Williams said, is a key factor in getting
couples to show up.

"The guys especially never want to come at first," Williams said. "But this
session, out of the 18 couples that signed up, 16 are graduating today. That
says a lot."

Many of the families find out about the classes by word of mouth or through
the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
 better known as WIC, Rogers said.

Sacramento ranks seventh in California for the number of single female heads
of household, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and more than one-third
of the city's children are born to unwed parents.

"This is our first child," said Ying Moua, 25, gesturing to her boyfriend,
Theory Vue, and their 4-month-old son, Aaron. "Before he was born we used to
go out and have a lot of fun, but when we had a baby it changed everything.
We kind of lost ourselves. Š This program helped us find each other again."

As for Abernathy and Hodges, who graduated from the three-week program
Saturday, they're already applying some of the techniques they learned to
their relationship  and it's working, they said.

"Before the class you could tell people thought we were headed down a path
of serious destruction," Abernathy said, holding Hodges' hand. "But now,
we're going to be together Š "

"Forever," Hodges said.

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- MML FOR HMONG 
Diane, 
Tonight, the first Mastering the Mysteries of Love (MML) class in the Hmong
language (with Hmong workbooks!) was launced with 36 people present. There
were six coaches who spoke Hmong.  We have around 40,000 Hmong in the Fresno
area and I was overwhelmed with joy and awe to see this long-awaited dream
come true.  The couples hung on every word during the class.  Click on this
link to see a few pics from the class:
http://growyourmarriage.com/index.php?id=75

Ron McLain, M.A.
Executive Director
Healthy Marriage Coalition of Fresno/Madera County
http://www.growyourmarriage.com

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- JULIE ON CARDER'S CLOSE CALLS

Julie Baumgardner saw a huge opportunity in Dave Carder's keynote in Orlando
and says she's determined to get his 19 Close Call Danger Signs to the
public. True to her word, here's what she's done so far using with a
mulit-meida blitz - the local newspaper, radio spots, and her blog. And, you
know Julie, she's say please take whatever you can use and educate the
couples in your community.

> Diane, Here is what I put on my blog last night about Carder's Close Calls -
> it went to Facebook and I am twittering about it.  If people visit the blog
> they can also see the ad we placed in the Chattanooga Sun Times - it is
> prominently featured at the top of the blog. See it here and read the blog:
> http://juliebaumgardner.blogspot.com/
---------------------------
> I also did a radio commercial yesterday.  Here is the script:
> 
> I'm going to ask you some questions.  Don't answer out loud.
> 
> Have you checked out the old flame on FB?
> Did you wear your hot black dress to the class reunion or were you just
> checking out the x-girlfriend in her hot black dress?
> Is there someone at work of the opposite sex that you confide in?
> 
> If you answered yes to any of these questions you might be in a CCF.
> 
> What's a CCF you're asking?  A Close Call Relationship.
> 
> Really I think they should be called a Clueless Close Call Relationship
> because so many people caught up in an affair will say, 'I have no idea
> how this happened.'
> 
> If you don't want to be clueless about close call friendships here are
> some things you should avoid:
> 
> Don't talk about your spouse to someone of the opposite sex.
> 
> Don't give off any vibes that you would be open to any of relationship
> with someone of the opposite sex.
> 
> The infatuation of young love never goes away.  Going there is playing
> with fire.
> 
> For more information about affair-proofing your marriage visit
> firstthings.org
> 

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

- THAT WEDDING PROCESSION

Look at what Marc Payan did with the wedding procession on his Marriage
Tweets - what a great point he added from Howard Markman.
http://bit.ly/13xxpg

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-  MARC PAYAN TECH INFO

>> Diane, That Collage on Smartmarriages by Animoto.com is really cool.
>> Couldn't tell from the site without registering if it costs to post stuff
>> like that or if it is free could Marc tell us more.  It sounded like there
>> were levels of service.??? - Bob Ruthazer

Since the collage was created by Marc Payan, our Marriage Tech Guru, I sent
your question to him.  Here is the original link, in case you missed what
this collage/Animot is about.  And, here is Marc's reply:

Animoto's basic service is free to anyone. As with many online applications,
Animoto subscribes to the 'freemium' business model that works by offering
basic services for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special
features. Anyone can create an unlimited amount of of 30 second clips for
free with the basic service.  An all-access pass ($30 annually) allows you
to create full-length videos among other features. Enter referral code:
tjwuqdrm for $5 off annual fee. (direct link:
http://animoto.com/?ref=tjwuqdrm).

There is also a Pro account that is reserved for those interested in videos
licensed for commercial use.  Pro Accounts differ from all-access accounts
in a few major ways: 1) Price: $249 annually 2) Access to a library of
commercially-licensed music to go along with your videos 3) White Label:
removal of all animoto logos.

And, note that Animoto supports not-for-profits and other humanitarian
causes with free Pro accounts.

Here is what USA Today had to say about Animoto:

Animoto marries TV-like production values (fast cuts, pans and zooms) with
your digital pictures into little visual masterpieces for your website or
blog. In a word, they look nothing short of terrific. "No two videos are
ever the same," promises Animoto, which was founded by former producers for
ABC and MTV. "We're trying to recreate MTV-style videos and movie trailers,
for the Web," says Brad Jefferson, one of Animoto's three co-founders. "We
want to take technology to the next level."

Tons more press coverage: http://animoto.com/company/buzz/press

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