Invitation to be Part Marriage Education history - 7/1/10

Thu Jul 1 12:21:25 EDT 2010

- SAVE THE MARRIAGE MONEY/TRADE ASSOCIATION EVENT
- NEW TRADE ASSOCIATION CHARTER

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Be part of history Friday 5:15pm at Smart Marriages in Gatlin A1

Dear Diane,
Please inform the list that they will have a chance to be part of history on
Friday, July 9th at the Smart Marriages Orlando Conference.

It will be the first time that the topic of Marriage Education will be a
campaign issue in a major election.  As part of Friday evening¹s 5:15pm
³Save the Marriage Money Teach-in² and the launching of the new national
Trade Association, the National Association for Relationship and Marriage
Education (NAMRE), we will have two of the leading candidates for Florida¹s
U.S. Senate seat participate in a ³Candidate Face-Off² on the topic of ³My
position on the issue of expanded federal support for Marriage and
Relationship Education programs as a way to reduce poverty and build strong
and healthy families.²

The two candidates that have accepted our invitation are the likely nominees
from the two major parties.  The likely Democratic nominee, U.S. Congressman
Kendrick Meek, has already come out publicly in support of Marriage and
Relationship Education, and his support is important since Congressman Meek
sits on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee for Income Security and Family
Support, the subcommittee which drafts legislation for TANF, which is where
the current funding for the Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grants is
authorized and where continued funding for Marriage/Relationship Education
is currently being debated.  In a recent letter to the Administration for
Children and Families and that Subcommittee, Congressman Meek expressed his
appreciation for the benefits that these marriage/relationship education
programs have provided within his district and his strong desire to have
federal funding continued for these types of programs.

The presumptive Republican nominee, Marco Rubio, will be represented at the
³Candidate Face-off² by one of his top lieutenants, former Speaker Pro Tem
of the Florida House of Representatives, Dennis Baxley.  Mr. Rubio, the
former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, has a long history
in support of ³family values²  and we will be very interested in hearing
how that general support will translate into specific support for Marriage
and Relationship Education funding.

We also extended an invitation to the third major candidate in the race,
Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who is running as an Independent, but we
have not yet received a response to our invitation.  As you may recall,
Governor Crist recently line-item vetoed a scheduled $500,000 Marriage
Education Grant program that had been passed by the Florida legislature  so
it would be interesting to hear his justification for taking this seemingly
anti-Marriage Education action, if he chooses to participate.

What is exciting about this event is that this is the first time ever that
Marriage Education has become a campaign issue in a major national or
state-wide campaign.  As such, we strongly encourage ALL participants at
this year¹s Smart Marriages Conference to attend this Candidate Face-off and
show your support for this issue and the candidate you believe is most in
line with your values. 

Dennis Stoica and Richard Albertson
Founding Members of the National Association for Relationship and Marriage
Education (NARME)

You do not need to register for this event, it¹s part of your conference
registration as are all the other Teach-In, Morning Roundtable, Film
Festivals, and Gatherings at the conference.  For a schedule of the bonus
Networking events click on Room Locator #2 here:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/headstart.orlando.html
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- NEW TRADE ASSOCIATION CHARTER

Diane:  After months of hard work, we will launch our new marriage trade
association at the Smart Marriages Conference in Orlando!  The name we have
selected is the National Association for Relationship and Marriage Education
(NARME) with the tagline: "Building Strong Marriages, Fathers, and Families"

Our formal launch will be on July 9th from 5:15 - 6:00 pm in Gatlin A1.
Everyone is invited! For those who would like to participate in the signing
ceremony to sign our formal charter (see the draft below), please email your
name, organization name, city and state to richard at livethelife.org before
Tuesday, July 6 at 5:00 pm eastern time.  After the deadline, folks will
still be able to sign the charter, they will just not have their names
printed on the original document.

Once the charter is signed, anyone who is interested in joining the trade
association as voting members is welcome.  As an incentive to join and
become a founding member of the association, we are offering a 50% reduction
in the 2010 membership rate! The membership rate is 2/10 of 1% of your
annual relationship and marriage education program budget, or $250,
whichever is greater.  Anyone can be a non-voting associate member at $200
per year, and for those that want to support the work outlined in our
charter, you can become a partner for $25.

We hope everyone will joins us for this truly historic event!  If anyone has
questions, please email richard at livethelife.org  or julieb at firstthings.org

National Association for Relationship and Marriage Education (NARME)
"Building Strong Marriages, Fathers, and Families"

CHARTER

MISSION 

The MISSION of the National Association for Relationship and Marriage
Education is to foster education for healthy marriages, responsible fathers,
and strong families in America

WE, THE ASSOCIATION ALLIES BELIEVE:

* Life can be summed up in one word:  Relationships
* Healthy married couples are happier, healthier, and wealthier than
non-married couples, and the children of healthy married couples do better
on average than children of non-married couples
* People have significantly better outcomes in life when they discover,
learn, and practice healthy relationship skills for all phases of life
including youth, workplace, singles, single parents, and marriages.
* The natural result of divorce, cohabitation, and out-of-wedlock
childbearing is the collapse of the American family and the corrosion of our
economy 
* Family fragmentation and collapse costs U.S. taxpayers at least $112
billion each year, and more than $1 trillion each decade.

TO THESE ENDS:

·        We unite our efforts as allies in a common mission to save future
generations from the destructive consequences of failed marriages,
irresponsible fathers, and broken homes that result in poor child outcomes
·        We call upon government, business, community and faith-based
leaders to take responsibility and develop the leadership and resources
necessary to lead a national effort to promote healthy marriages,
responsible fathers, and strong families that result in positive outcomes
for both children and adults

CORE PRINCIPLES: 

1.    The National Association for Relationship and Marriage Education
provides a neutral banner under which all allies can work
2.    Relationship and Marriage Education help couples form and maintain a
healthy, happy, stable home‹something that greatly benefits them, their
children and the entire community.  Healthy relationship skills are
beneficial for all phases of life including youth, workplace, singles,
single parents, and marriages.
3.    Children have better outcomes in life when their fathers are involved
in their lives.
4.    The breakdown of marriages and families is a core social problem.  It
s a multi-sector problem which will require a multi sector solution.
5.    Working together means we will accomplish far more than we could ever
do alone.
6.    Humble servant leaders are critical to authentic leadership.
7.    We will respect and protect the unique gifts and resources that each
ally brings.
8.    We recognize that we have much we can learn from one another.
9.    We gladly and respectfully work with all who seek the well-being of
future generations through healthy, lifelong marriages, responsible fathers,
strong families, and vibrant communities
10. We support the widespread dissemination of research-based education
programs that lead to healthy marriages, responsible fatherhood, strong
families, and vibrant communities
11. We support public policy changes that prevent family disruption, and
support healthy marriages, responsible fatherhood, strong families, and
vibrant communities.
12. We understand some relationships are beyond repair and believe public
policy should not try to keep people in abusive relationships.
13. Our approach will be continuously informed and updated by the latest
research findings.
14. We place a high value on investing in relationships and modeling our
message by how we treat one another.
15. We seek to empower leaders across the nation and develop champions who
are passionate about developing healthy marriages, responsible fatherhood,
and strong families.
16. We seek to be responsive and flexible as opportunities and challenges
emerge.
17. We will strive to conduct ourselves at all times with the highest
standards of honesty, integrity, respect, mutual accountability, and
collective responsibility.

OUR COMMON VALUES

 Unity:            The source of our unity is our shared commitment to
healthy marriages, responsible fatherhood, and strong families as
cornerstones of civilization

Serving:        We seek to serve rather than be served

Unifying:       We desire ever-increasing levels of unity, collaboration,
and fellowship

Entrusting:   We seek to entrust our movement to champions across the United
States and to equip them to be successful in leading a restoration movement
for healthy marriages, responsible fatherhood, and strong families

Measuring:  We desire accountability for measurable results

SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

The Scope of Activities of the Association May Include:
* Be a relentless national advocate for healthy marriages, responsible
fathers, strong families, and vibrant communities in America
* Provide ongoing marriage, fatherhood, and family education training
opportunities 
* Educate the public, the media, and our allies about the state of marriage
in America, and the effectiveness of marriage education and fatherhood
programs 
* Network with marriage, fatherhood, and family allies across America to
foster relationships, share resources, and mobilize our joint efforts
* Seek public policy changes to prevent family disruption, support healthy
marriages, responsible fatherhood, strong families, and vibrant communities
* Seek to profile ³best practices² for education programs for marriages,
fathers, and families.  Utilize effective assessment tools to measure and
evaluate the effectiveness of these programs
* Work with local community-based organizations to develop programs for
healthy marriages, responsible fathers, and strong families in various
settings including faith-based organizations, schools, government agencies,
and businesses 
* Develop a website to advance the Association's mission, vision, and scope
of activities 
* Raise financial support from Association dues, and from various funding
sources including foundations, government grants, and the private sector to
advance Association goals and objectives

The Charter for the National Association for Relationship and Marriage
Education was drafted by Richard Albertson, Founding President of Live the
Life in Tallahassee, Florida.  The Charter was adopted on July 9th, 2010.

The current administrative offices of the Association are located at:
Live the Life
2252 Killearn Center Blvd, Suite 100
Tallahassee, FL  32309
(850) 668-3700
richard at livethelife.org

FOUNDING CHARTER SIGNATORIES

On this 9th day of July, 2010, the Founding Board of Directors, Trade
Association Members, and common allies adopted the National Association for
Relationship and Marriage Education Charter as our guide for collaboration
and shared mission.

NAME                        ORGANIZATION                             CITY,
STATE
Richard Albertson         Live the Life
Tallahassee, Florida
Jennifer Baker             Operation Us
Springfield, Missouri
Julie Baumgardner        First Things First
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Susan Dutton Freund   ThinkMarriage.org                                Green
Bay, Wisconsin
Rob Harrison               4EverMarriages
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hyepin C. Im               Korean Churches for Community Development
California
Alicia E. La Hoz            Family Bridges Program
Wheaton, Illinois  
Joneen Mackenzie        WAIT Training                            Denver,
Colorado
Kay Reed                   The Dibble Institute
Berkeley, California
Maggie Russell           Texas Coalition for Healthy Families   Houston,
Texas      
Dennis Stoica              California Healthy Marriages Coalition Leucadia,
California
MP Wylie                    Relationship Research Foundation       Orange
County, California

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