National Marriage Week will be observed this week despite the ongoing pandemic. National Marriage Week USA has released a new COVID guide and called for organizations across the United States to provide online marriage-strengthening activities for the week leading up to Valentine’s Day.
The goal is to increase marriage education, promote the benefits of marriage for reducing poverty and benefiting children, and provide the only national clearinghouse for marriage events throughout the country. Throughout the week, organizations across the United States will draw attention to the need to strengthen marriage and hold virtual classes and events to build stronger marriages.
READ: Poll finds pandemic strengthened marriages in 2020
Recent research continues to confirm that married adults are about twice as likely to report they are “very happy” than adults who are divorced or never married. Not only does marriage increase adult happiness, but it also benefits children. In the United States, marriage reduces the probability of child poverty by 82 percent. Children raised by both parents at home perform better in school and are less likely to experience addiction, teen pregnancy and trouble with the law.
“Even with the challenges of the pandemic, marriage is worth it,” executive director Sheila Weber said. “From increasing adult happiness to providing the security children need to thrive, marriage benefits everyone. And as many have realized during the lockdown, strong marriages take work, but there are effective ways to strengthen struggling marriages and restore broken relationships.”
National Marriage Week USA has released a new COVID guide for online marriage classes and support, along with its toolkit for how to promote marriage in the community and a national calendar of marriage-strengthening events.
“We invite all those who believe that marriage is worth it to join with us to provide virtual tools to support marriages this February,” Weber said. “Especially during the COVID lockdown, we need to help strengthen relationships across the country.”
More information is available at www.NationalMarriageWeekUSA.com.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice