DATE:       2/13/01
CONTACTS:   Dr. Brenda Thames, (864) 656-5717
            Dr. Deborah Thomason, (864) 656-5721
WRITER:     Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Extension strengthens families
through national conference

     CLEMSON - People are coming from as far as Australia and 
Nigeria to attend a national conference on strengthening families
offered at Myrtle Beach Feb. 25-28 by Clemson Extension.
     "Strengthening Families and Youth: Strategies for Success" 
teaches ways to build stronger families. The national conference 
is offered for those who work with families and others interested 
in the topic.
     Today's families have many influences that can weaken them: 
two working parents, divorce, single parent households are just a 
few examples. A crisis can weaken a family at any time, but the 
family can focus on its strengths and use them to weather a 
crisis. According to research, there are 10 strengths that 
families share: optimism, resiliency, spirituality, values, 
self-esteem, humor, history, contentment, unity and communication.
     "This conference will bring educators and human service 
workers together from diverse disciplines to learn ways to improve 
the quality of life of families and youth in this time of dramatic
change," said Brenda Thames, a Clemson Extension program development
specialist with the Family and Youth Development Department at 
Clemson University. Thames and Deborah Thomason, a Clemson Extension
family and youth development specialist in the same department, are
coordinators for the conference.
     Highlights include two speakers from Washington, D.C. who 
are national program leaders in family and youth development; 
"Imagine That," a teen improvisational theater troupe from 
Spartanburg; workshops and seminars, which demonstrate ways to
strengthen families and youth, plus the latest research and 
evaluation techniques. Curricula and other materials will be 
available.
     Clemson University, the university's Cooperative Extension 
Service and the Department of Family and Youth Development in 
the College of Health, Education and Human Development are 
sponsoring the conference.
     To register, go to http://fyd.clemson.edu/SFY.htm . For 
additional information, call Deborah Thomason at (864) 656-5721
(dthmsn@clemson.edu) or Brenda Thames at (864) 656-5717
(bthames@clemson.edu).
                               END