Graduating to Stronger Families

Celebrate and graduate. That was what our night was all about as 7 families graduated from the first Strengthening Families program in Robeson County. The joint Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) and 4-H program brought families in for six weeks straight and then we followed up a few weeks later with the last session. During our last session we recapped what we learned, and parents talked about some of the resources available in our community. During Family time the parents and youth wrote letters to each other that will be mailed out in a couple of weeks to remind them of the things they learned and show how much they love each other.
During the youth session the youth talked about the different things they had learned and how they have applied their new skills to their everyday lives. Some of those skills include how to be more respectful handle peer pressure, how to make better decisions, how to chose your friends, how to of parents and siblings, how to be more helpful around the house, how to stand up for what is right and how to say no in tough situations.

At the end of the family session each graduating family received a certificate with their families photo on it and a bag of goodies that included family fun activities. Families also have available to them booster sessions in the future if they would like to reinforce the skills they learned over the past six weeks.
Many of the families said that it was time well spent and that they are using the techniques they learned as part of their daily lives. We have enjoyed our first ever Strengthening Families Program and we are looking forward to the next one. If you would like more information about this program please contact Christy Strickland, Family Consumer Sciences Agent at (910) 671-3276 or Christy_Strickland@ncsu.edu.