FAMILY WEEK TOOL KIT

The purpose of this tool kit is to assist you in starting a

Week of the Family celebration in your

area.

HELP STRENGTHEN AND SUPPORT

FAMILIES

Week of the Family is designed to maintain and

strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society

and your community.

JOIN THE FUN

Make a Difference! Start a Family Week Celebration, or plan an event in your area.

Mission Statement

Strengthen Family Relationships through Education, Wholesome Activities, Fitness and Community Service.

Week of the Family Foundation, Inc.

FAMILIES ARE OUR MOST

TREASURED RESOURCE

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world

in which we live.”John Paul II

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

What do you want to accomplish?Research on internetWrite down ideasNeeds in your areaCity or county celebrationList of community & government

leaders to contactUse www.weekofthefamily.org as

a help and resource.

FIRST THINGS FIRST!

Now you’re ready to contact your city or county officials. Present your plan. Ask for a Proclamation to show support of families in your community.

Contact YMCAs, Schools, Libraries, Churches, and other organizations and ask them to participate.

Look for appropriate community events going on at that time, and see if they would like to be part of your celebration.

ESTABLISH A PLANNING COMMITTEE

Put together a planning committee that consists of key individuals that can help make your Family Week a success. The more diverse your committee, the more ideas and resources. Example would be people from:

• County & City• Faith Communities• Libraries• PTA’s• Non-profit Organizations• Media Representatives• YMCA• Schools

GET STARTED

Plan initial meeting Identify a chairpersonSet objectivesAssign areas of responsibilityDevelop a timeline

OBJECTIVES What do we want to accomplish?

What activities can you plan to achieve objectives?

How much time and money will be needed?

How many activities can you conduct successfully? (Don’t bite off more than you can chew….)

INITIAL MEETINGSet up place and time for monthly

meetings.Choose a secretary to take

minutes, keep track of assignments, and send out meeting reminders.

Come prepared with agenda so you accomplish your goal.

Assign committee responsibilities. (Divide & Conquer)

CREATE A TIMELINE

Identify steps necessary to accomplish your plan.

Assign a date when things are to be completed.

Set deadlines for flyers & publicity.

Keep good records.

Always schedule an evaluation meeting. (Duplicate successes, learn from mistakes)

IDENTIFY SPONSORS

Local businesses, industry and media can help serve as sponsors. Companies can donate money, prizes or services to help promote events. Sponsors could be: banks, print shops, restaurants, hospitals, grocery stores, local media, etc. Members of the planning committee may also have valuable links to potential sponsors. When approaching a sponsor, be specific about what is needed.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

SPONSORS are those that help you monetarily. PARTNERS are those that put on events or activities. .

PUBLICITY

Well-planned activities will

be disappointing

if no one comes. The

key is to advertise

EARLY and OFTEN.

GET THE WORD OUT

Distribute flyers and posters in your community. They can be given to schools, YMCA’s, churches , businesses, etc..

Don’t forget to get your events posted on the web. Use community calendars, online newspapers, and city and county websites.

Contact all newspapers and radio stations.

Send press releases to all media sources.

TOOLS TO HELP

Following are helps we have provided for your

use:Logo

Letter to Community Leaders

Sample Proclamation

Community Event Registration Form

Sign up for your own site on www.weekofthefamily.org

CUSTOMIZE WITH YOUR AREA

SAMPLE LETTER TO COMMUNITY LEADER

Date

The Honorable (Name of Mayor or Elected Official)

City of (Name of City)AddressCity, State, Zip

Dear (Mayor/Elected Official)

We would like to invite you to support Week of the Family in our county and ask you to please consider issuing a proclamation stating that (your dates) is Family Week for (County). This will be a time to honor the most important institution in America – the family.

Family Week is now being celebrated in many areas. We would like to join in that celebration , and a proclamation from you would send a strong message to our community that our families are important. We believe strong families are the foundation of strong communities.

This will be a time that we can come together to recognize families through wholesome activities, education, and service.

We hope you will support our families in (County) by issuing this proclamation.Respectfully yours,

(Name)Week of the Family Committee

SAMPLE PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, the _________County Board of County Commissioners recognizes that __________ County is blessed with a multitude of families-an essential part of the cultural, social, and spiritual fabric; andWHEREAS, the __________ County Board of County Commissioners recognizes strong families are at the center of strong communities; andWHEREAS, everyone has a role to play in making families successful, including neighborhood organizations, businesses, nonprofit agencies, policymakers and of course, families themselves; andWHEREAS, during the week of _______________, __________County residents should take time to honor the importance of families and to recognize the special connections that support and strengthen them throughout the year; andWHEREAS, during this week, ____________ County families can take the opportunity to commit to enhancing and extending all of the connections that strengthen and enrich this most valuable institution; andWHEREAS, __________ County joins Week of the Family Foundation, Inc. and other agencies and organizations throughout the county to honor and celebrate our families;

NOW THEREFORE, I _______________, by virtue of the authority vested in me as _______________, do hereby proclaim the week of _______________

As_____________ COUNTY’S WEEK OF THE FAMILYAND INVITE ALL CITIZENS TO SHARE IN THE MANY FESTIVITIES

PREPARED FOR THE OCCASION.(Can be adapted for city or county)

www.weekofthefamily.org

Fill out and RETURN the Community Event Registration Form if you would like

to participate in our celebration. STARTING Week of the Family in your

area click on “START A WOF IN YOUR AREA” on our home page and we will help

you on your way.

Please complete the following registration form and return to :

Week of the Family Foundation, Inc. chairman@weekofthefamily.org

Event Name:__________________________________

Date/Time :___________________________________

Address:______________________________________

Contact Person:________________________________

Phone:_______________________________________

Email:_______________________________________

Brief Description:______________________________

COMMUNITY EVENT

REGISTRATION FORM

SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT: (Your name & title)PHONE: (Where you can be reached)FOR RELEASE: (Date you want release printed)(Your Organization’s name) will join with the Week of the

Family Foundation, Inc. in celebrating Week of the Family_____________________(Dates)

The Mission of the Family Foundation is to Strengthen Family Relationships through Education, Wholesome Activities, Fitness and Community Service.

(Name of Business/Organization) will be joining in the celebration with (Description of Event)

To see all the activities going on during Week of the Family go to

List your URL

IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES

FAMILY FUN DAY Sponsor a day where families can come together and have fun.

TOWN PICNIC STORY TIME at Community Libraries FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT- encourage city

to hold a family movie in the park. BIKE RIDE, WALK AND FUN RUN WRITING CONTESTS- Involve Schools TALENT SHOW INVITE SPEAKERS to talk on helps for

families COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT

–”Families Helping Families.” (Check our website for ideas www.weekofthefamily.org)

FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Spend time with grandparents.Make one night a week Family Night.Take a family walk.Go on a picnic.Talk one on one to each child.Bike rideGame nightMake a commitment to eat dinner together.Have a family meeting to plan things you can do together.

MAKE A PLAN AND DO IT !

COME JOIN IN THE FUN

BE A PART OF STRENGTHENING FAMILIES IN YOUR

COMMUNITY

“No other success can compensate for failure in

the home.”

David O. McKay