Strong Families Are at the Center of Strong Communities
National Family Week Set for November 21-27, 2004
During Thanksgiving week, thousands of people across the United States will
celebrate the connections they have with their families and communities during
National Family Week.
National Family Week: Connections Count embraces the premise that children
live better lives when their families are strong, and families are strong when
they live in communities that connect them to economic opportunities, social
networks, and services. These "connections" celebrated during National Family
Week include access to reliable transportation, employment opportunities,
education, child care, housing, health care, and support from community
networks and institutions.
"Ordinary families are extraordinarily important to our communities and our
country," says Roy L. Williams, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of
America. "When America's diverse families and children are healthy, our nation
prospers. That's why we hope everyone will take time during National Family
Week to honor the connections that support and strengthen families year-round.
Let's recognize the value of families, as well as the importance of family
values."
Sam Wiley, who was a teacher and administrator in Indianapolis, founded
National Family Week in 1968. The Alliance for Children and Families, based
in Milwaukee, has organized National Family Week efforts for more than 30 years.
The alliance and its member organizations across the country, including the Boy
Scouts of America, are coordinating activities on local and national levels to
encourage people to celebrate their connections within the community and
the family.
The ideas below are ways to celebrate National Family Week:
- Extend your family. Plan a "family supper" with neighbors
or help in a neighborhood improvement effort.
- Adopt a military family. Send a thank-you note to a person
in the service and lend your support to his or her family.
- Select an issue that's important to your family, and work
with local officials to effect change.
- Plan a "family summit" and invite area leaders and residents
to discuss issues important to the community.
Visit www.nationalfamilyweek.org or call 800-221-2681 to learn more about
National Family Week and get helpful hints for making Connections Count.
National Family Week: Connections Count is made possible through the work
of the Alliance for Children and Families and the generous support of the
Annie E. Casey Foundation.
- About the Alliance for Children and Families
- The Alliance for Children and Families is a nonprofit membership
association representing child- and family-serving organizations
in North America. Member organizations provide an array of
community-based programs and services to all generations, and
serve close to eight million people each year in more than 6,700
communities. Motivated by a vision of a healthy society and strong
communities, the alliance's mission is to strengthen the capacities
of North America's nonprofit child- and family-serving organizations
to serve and to advocate children, families, and
communities.
- About the Annie E. Casey Foundation
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation works to build better futures for
disadvantaged children and their families in the United States.
Its mission is to foster public policies, human service reforms,
and community support that more effectively meet the needs of
today's vulnerable children and families. The foundation provides
grants to public and nonprofit organizations to strengthen the
support services, social networks, physical infrastructure,
employment, self-determination, and economic vitality of
distressed communities. For more information, visit
www.aecf.org.
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