Just in time for Valentine’s Day, National Marriage Week USA begins on February 7 and continues through February 14.
National Marriage Week USA is a national movement promoting education about the benefits of marriage for reducing poverty and benefiting children. Throughout the week, organizations across the United States will draw attention to the need to strengthen marriage and host events to build stronger marriages.
Marriage Week was adopted in the United States in 2002 by Brent Barlow and Diane Sollee of Smart Marriages. In 2009, a group led by Chuck Stetson and Sheila Weber of the Let’s Strengthen Marriage Campaign, working with dozens or organizations and leaders of the marriage movement, developed the National Marriage Week USA website. The purpose of this site is to bring together the many activities that organizations, including churches, already are doing to strengthen marriage.
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A steep decline in married adults, coupled with a rise in cohabitation and births to unwed mothers, has resulted in a marriage crisis. Research shows that the breakdown in marriage harms children and increases poverty rates. National Marriage Week is stepping in to raise awareness about the benefits of marriage and promote strong marriages.
Recent research from the Institute of Family Studies demonstrates that married adults are happier than unmarried and divorced adults. For both men and women, marriage correlates with a higher degree of happiness.
“The research on this has been consistent for decades,” said Sheila Weber, executive director of NMWUSA. “Simply put, marriage is good for your happiness and for health, and it’s also good for children. We want all Americans to know that marriage takes work but that it’s worth it.”
National Marriage Week USA has released a toolkit with ideas about how to promote marriage in your community, a list of trusted resources for struggling marriages and the only online national calendar of marriage-strengthening event. This kit and additional information are available at www.NationalMarriageWeekUSA.org.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice