Announcing a New Initiative February 7 to 14, 2010
National Marriage Week USA
To encourage marriage, reduce divorce rates, curtail poverty, and benefit children

Contact: Sheila Weber, 646-322-6853, Sheila@letsstrengthenmarriage.org

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- National Marriage Week USA announces a new initiative for the week leading up to Valentine's Day 2010, and is putting forth a call to mobilize hundreds of organizations to plan and prepare for awareness and activities for February 7 to 14, 2010. The goal is to elevate national attention on the need to strengthen marriage and ways to do it, and initiate new efforts to reduce the divorce rate and build a stronger marriage culture which in turn helps curtail poverty and benefits children.

National Marriage Week has long been an organized celebration around the world (www.marriage-weekinternational.org) with large rallies, resolutions in Parliaments, concerted outreach for marriage education, and more. But not many folks know about it in the U.S. This week in 2010, a new initiative is being launched by National Marriage Week USA in an effort to build collaboration and focus uniquely on February 7 to 14 with coordination of national efforts at www.NationalMarriageWeekUSA.org.

Chuck Stetson, chairman of National Marriage Week USA says "The alarming drop in marriage rates in America combined with high divorce rates are financially costly to taxpayers and individuals, and emotionally costly to children. Marriage breakdown costs taxpayers $112 billion a year. The nation needs to pay attention."

"Marriage works," says executive director Sheila Weber. "Research shows that marriage makes people happier, live longer, and build more economic security. Children with married parents perform better in school. There are proven ways to repair and restore marriages--but most folks don't know where to go to get the help they need."

The first-ever Marriage Index, recently released jointly by the National Center on African American Marriages and Parenting (NCAAMP) and the Institute for American Values in October 2009, reveals a huge decline in national marriage indicators. One indicator shows 79 percent of adults were married in 1970, while only 57 percent of adults were married in 2008. Another indicator shows 40 percent of all children in America are now born out of wedlock; and 72 percent of African American children are now born without married parents.

"I am excited about the efforts of National Marriage Week USA to pull together business, government, and religious organizations to draw attention to solutions to the current problems created by divorce," said marriage expert Dr. Gary Chapman, #1 best-selling author of "Five Love Languages." "If we can help couples learn how to create loving, supportive marriages, it will not only bring marital satisfaction, but will enrich the lives of children, and create a more productive society," said Chapman, national spokesperson for the 2010 effort.

Find resources to help your own marriage, find marriage conferences in your area, learn how to help others in your community, watch a one-hour webinar, and get lots of practical ideas for how to celebrate at www.nationalmarriageweekUSA.org.