Marriage Experts Urge FamilyCorps Volunteers to Action to Help America's Children and Families
A Marshall Plan is needed for America's children and families, says a pioneer of the marriage movement. Dr. Lori Gordon, creator of PAIRS, is calling on delegates at the 2004 Smart Marriages and Happy Families conference to launch a FamilyCorps coalition to bring relationship skills training to every American.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) July 9, 2004 -- "We need a Marshall plan for America's
families," Dr. Lori Gordon of Weston, FL said today at a national gathering of
marriage educators who are meeting this week with state and federal officials at
the 8th annual Smart Marriages and Happy Families conference in
Dallas.
Gordon said the breakdown of traditional family structure
combined with increasing financial hardships has hit America's children with the
force of a deadly epidemic.
"This epidemic is robbing our children of the
developmental assets and resources most important for their future health and
well-being," Gordon said. "They are innocent victims of social, economic and
political factors that they have no power to influence."
"The children
themselves and our society in general," she added, "will pay an enormous price
for our failure to stop this epidemic."
Gordon is founder of the national
PAIRS program (www.pairs.com)
and author of Passage to Intimacy, Love Knots, and If You Really Loved Me. She
has been training marriage educators and creating relationships skills workshops
since 1984.
At the Dallas conference, sponsored annually by the Coalition
for Marriage, Family, and Couples Education, CMFCE, Gordon is asking many of the
2000 conference delegates to volunteer 50 hours of their time annually to help
strengthen America's families and neighborhoods.
"We’re asking other
programs to join PAIRS in launching a national FamilyCorps initiative," Gordon
said. "FamilyCorps will match trained volunteers with local projects that help
restore the spirit of community to America's families and neighborhoods," she
said.
Gordon said two decades of study by leading researchers has
demonstrated "intimacy is a skill that can be learned."
"Twenty years of
research has demonstrated unequivocally that communication, conflict resolution,
and emotional understanding skills are key to sustaining successful, long-term
relationships and building happy families," Gordon said. "These lessons need to
be incorporated into textbooks, welfare and work training, civic and religious
marriage preparation programs and elsewhere so they are available to everyone at
the earliest possible age."
Gordon's PAIRS program was recently grant
funded to provide marriage training to low income couples at two locations in
Florida. She said early results are promising, but that much more needs to be
done.
She said an initial goal for FamilyCorps is to recruit 500
volunteers over the next 36 months. "Every volunteer hour can make a
difference," she said. "FamilyCorps members will be on the frontlines of a very
real war for the future of America," she added.
To stem the tide of
family breakdown, Gordon said, America needs the active participation of the
major marriage education programs, civic and religious leaders, and state and
federal government. Her husband, Rabbi Morris Gordon, a decorated military
chaplain and co-founder of PAIRS, agreed. Rabbi Gordon said he believes
FamilyCorps can make a difference for America similar to the impact the Marshall
Plan had in Europe following after World War II.
"Winning this battle
will take a national commitment that goes far beyond beautiful words and
inspiring images," Rabbi Gordon said. "Saving America's children and families
will take bringing together the very best America has to offer to protect the
very future of our nation and world," he added.
Gordon, who during his 89
years has personally witnessed much change at home and abroad, said he has no
doubt America has the resources to overcome the challenges ahead. The retired
rabbi shared the story of sitting just yards away from Rev. Martin Luther King,
Jr., on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, when he delivered his famous "I have
a dream" speech in Washington, DC.
"My own dream," said Rabbi Gordon, "is
that FamilyCorps activists will reach families in neighborhoods everywhere in
America and help us restore the spirit of community to families so every child
can grow up with the foundation and resources to experience the very best life
has to offer."
Erich Jackson, spokesman for 411-KIDS (www.411kids.org), a
Florida-based volunteer group that works on the streets in Fort Lauderdale with
homeless, runaway and thrownaway youth, said he expects some of the program's
volunteers to sign on with FamilyCorps.
"Our work with street kids has
shown us over and again that the most common denominator for runaway and
thrownaway children is family breakdown," said Jackson. "I’d be surprised if
even one percent of the two to three million youth who become homeless in
America had models at home that offered an example of what it takes to create a
lasting marriage or happy family."
"In so many of those cases," Jackson
added, "their own parents didn't know because they also didn't grow up with
successful examples. Where were they supposed to learn?"
"So many
American youngsters and teens look to celebrities like Britney Spears, Paris
Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Lopez, Pam Anderson, and
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as examples to follow," Jackson said. "America needs
more celebrities like Bill Cosby who are willing to stand up for our nation's
young people and the role of family, community and society. Movie stars,
recording artists and athletes have a significant impact on our youth. It would
be wonderful to see some of them volunteer with FamilyCorps to use their talents
and resources to make a difference in our neighborhoods."
Jackson said he
hopes there will come a day when celebrities like Madonna and Britney Spears are
willing to pick up the phone and volunteer with FamilyCorps. "When celebrities
realize what a difference they can make in helping children and families, I
think many of them will want to get involved," Jackson said. "I believe in
miracles," he added.
The Gordons said FamilyCorps will begin matching
volunteers with community projects later this year. For more information, visit
www.FamilyCorps.org or
call (877) 411-5437.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb140146.htm