2012 Operation Christmas Card

It’s time for Operation Christmas Card!

Do you know an inmate in a local, state, or federal facility who would like to receive a Christmas Card?

E-mail the inmate’s name, institution inmate number, and complete address by Friday, Nov. 23 to extendedfamily@tds.net, and he or she will be added to Extended Family’s 2012 Operation Christmas Card list.

After Nov. 23 the list will be e-mailed to Extended Family members and those who contributed a name for the list. Along with the list will be suggested guidelines for sending a card to an inmate.

Deadline for sending addresses: Friday, Nov. 23.

You can also assist Operation Christmas Card by sending a donation of any amount to: Extended Family, P.O. Box 26, Centre, AL 35960. Your gifts will go toward the purchase of stamps and cards to make 2012 Operation Christmas Card a success. So often the inmates who receive a card write back to tell us these were the only cards they received this holiday season, or the only mail they received this year. We have learned that this simple act has a large impact behind prison walls. We welcome your assistance in making it happen!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Laure

-
Laure Clemons
executive director
Extended Family

Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference

Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler will be at the Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference!

You are invited to the

Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference (AFPC), July 27-28

McElwain Baptist Church, 4445 Montevallo Road S., Birmingham, AL 35213

With a presentation by Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler!

Visit www.alabamafpc.org to see a list of presenters and learn more about this exciting event.

• General sessions with keynote speakers such as Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Kim Thomas, Ann Edenfield Sweet, author of Family Arrested; How to Survive the Incarceration of A Loved One, , Prison Fellowship President Garland Hunt, and Mary Kay Beard, founder of Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program
• 15 informative workshops led by experts in their field
• A Kids Konference, with supervised, camp-like activities for children ages 6-15
• 17 Exhibitors covering a wide variety of services helpful to families of prisoners
• Door prizes, four meals, and a chance to meet others who really understand!

There is a special registration rate offered for families of prisoners, with on-line registration at www.alabamafpc.org. E-mail alabamafpc@gmail.com, or call 256-557-0485, for more information.

Extended Family for Kids workshop - March 31

EXTENDED FAMILY FOR KIDS WORKSHOP

WHAT Extended Family for Kids program leader training workshop

WHEN Saturday, March 31, 2012

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE Gardendale First Baptist Church, South Campus

940 Main Street, Gardendale, AL 35071

WHY To train Extended Family for Kids program leaders for age-appropriate small groups at the 2012 Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference

REGISTER Registration for this free workshop is required – by March 26! To register, e-mail your name, address, phone, and number attending to: Extended Family, extendedfamily@tds.net, or call 256-927-7997.

Extended Family for Kids program leader training workshop

Laure Clemons, founder of Extended Family for Kids, will present an all-day workshop designed to train program leaders how to lead an Extended Family for Kids program group at the Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference, July 27-28, 2012 (www.alabamafpc.org). This free workshop is limited to the first 50 people who pre-register by March 26.

What is the Extended Family for Kids program and workshop?

Extended Family for Kids is a program designed specifically for children with an incarcerated family member. The program offers nine unique, solution-based sessions, designed to build self-esteem, ease feelings of shame and isolation, decrease stress, address anger issues, and strengthen communication skills. To date, the Extended Family for Kids program manual has been distributed in 12 states, and Laure Clemons has taught program workshops at local, state, and national conferences. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only curriculum of its kind in the country today.

In an Extended Family for Kids workshop, detailed instruction is given in all nine sessions of the program. Participants take part in the session activities, providing a hands-on training experience. Ways to implement the program in various types of organizations are discussed. Instruction is given in communicating to others in the community the need for such a program. Laure Clemons draws on her years of leading Extended Family for Kids programs to share real-life experiences in each of the nine sessions, addresses potential challenges that program leaders may face, and provides solutions drawn from the many groups she has already led.

Workshop will be taught by Extended Family for Kids founder and author, Laure Clemons. In 2007, Laure created and then led the Extended Family for Kids model program at Summerville Middle School, Summerville, Ga. She has since led multiple Extended Family for Kids programs, taking children as young as eight years old through the nine sessions, and witnessed first-hand the effects of this life-changing curriculum. She has been a guest on radio and television programs, gone into prisons to speak to inmates, and been a featured speaker at professional conferences. Laure is currently writing a book to guide other families through the prison experience, and continues to teach Extended Family for Kids workshops at state and national levels.

Who should attend an Extended Family for Kids workshop?

Anyone interested in leading an Extended Family for Kids group at the AFPC, who can commit to attending and leading these groups on July 27-28 at Gardendale First Baptist Church, should attend this workshop. The program leaders must have this training before they will be allowed to be in charge of an Extended Family for Kids group.

Anyone who is interested in being an assistant to the program leader can attend as well, and would get a lot out of the training. While assistants will not be required to have the training, they will be a lot more effective in their supportive role if they have gone through the workshop.

To what age group is an Extended Family for Kids program geared?

At the 2012 Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference, the Extended Family for Kids program will be offered to children ages 6 – 15. They children will be divided into age appropriate groups, and taught the material on their learning level. Every effort will be made to pair trained program leaders with the child’s age group they are most comfortable working with.

Is Extended Family for Kids community-based or faith-based?

Extended Family for Kids is community-based. The model program was developed in a Chattooga County, Georgia middle school in 2007, where it is still being taught today. Both community-based and faith-based organizations have since incorporated Extended Family for Kids into their programs for children of the incarcerated. The Extended Family for Kids program is flexible, allowing program leaders to tailor the program to best serve their organization’s scheduling and clientele.

For more information

To learn more about Extended Family, a support system for families of prisoners and Extended Family for Kids:

Extended Family

P.O. Box 26

Centre, AL 35960

Laure Clemons, executive director

256-927-7997

extendedfamily@tds.net

www.extendefamilysupport.org

To learn more about the Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference:

Alabama Families of Prisoners Conference

P.O. Box 912

Gardendale, AL 35071

alabamafpc@gmail.com

www.alabamafpc.org

Sharon Denham, AFPC Planning Committee Chair

205-902-8437

Conference Interest Meeting - July 23

There is something exciting happening in Alabama – and we are hoping you will be a part of it.

My friend, Mary Kay Beard, and I invite you to a meeting on Saturday, July 23, 9 to 11 a.m., to discuss an idea we have brewing. The meeting will be at Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church, 4660 Caldwell Mill Road, Birmingham, AL 35243.

What Mary Kay and I have been discussing is an Alabama conference for families of the incarcerated. We would love to have your input on this vision.

For the last two years I have attended and presented at the National Prisoners Family Conference. The other presenters have come from all over the country. They have covered a wide range of topics aimed at families of the incarcerated, and I have connected with people, organizations, and resources from one end of the United States to the other.

This conference has been extremely helpful to me as I direct Extended Family, a support system for families of prisoners. I have wanted to give that same conference experience to family members in Alabama, and Mary Kay feels the same way. (For those of you who don’t know Mary Kay, she is an ex-offender and founder of Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree. You can learn more about her story at www.marykaybeard.com.)

At the July 23 meeting we will discuss the idea of a state conference, get your input, and brainstorm on the purpose for such a conference. We had a similar meeting on June 11, and those in attendance were overwhelming for putting together an Alabama state conference for families of prisoners and others associated with the prison experience. We have even started to form a Conference Planning Committee.

Attendance at the July 23 meeting does not mean you have to be on the Planning Committee! It is simply a meeting to determine interest and get the ball rolling.

We hope to see you at:

Conference Interest Meeting
Saturday, July 23, 2011
9 – 11 a.m.
Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church
4660 Caldwell Mill Road
Birmingham, AL 35243

If you have any questions between now and then, please contact Sharon Denham, Conference Planning Committee Chairperson, at 205-902-8437, Laure Clemons at 256-927-7997, or Mary Kay Beard at 205-815-9991. And please pass this information on to anyone you know who might be interested in attending.


Laure Clemons
executive director
Extended Family

2011 Prisoners Family Conference - on my way!

Thanks to all of the friends and supporters of Extended Family, I will be attending and presenting at the 2011 Prisoners Family Conference in Portland, Oregon!

I leave on Feb. 22 and will return Feb. 26 – with some fabulous stories to tell when I get back. (Visit www.solutionsforelpaso.org to see the list of presenters and find a Conference registration form.)

Last year Jerry and I attended the National Conference in Orlando, FL. This year I’m going on my own so Jerry can stay here to work and attend his college classes. AND I get to present two workshops this year – the Extended Family for Kids workshop, and our latest one called Going Home. We will have an Extended Family exhibit at the conference as well, and I’ll be attending other workshops by presenters from all over the country.

On Monday, March 7, I will be giving a presentation at our Centre, AL Extended Family meeting on what I learned at the Conference and telling the stories of the people we reached while there. Please mark this date on your calendar and join us for a great update. Extended Family – March 7, 6 p.m., Cherokee Baptist Association Building, Main Street, Centre, AL 35960.

Stay tuned for more updates on Extended Family’s work - and thank you for helping us toward our Mission – to offer help and inspire hope.

Laure Clemons
executive director
Extended Family

Speaking to Rotary Club

On Jan. 31, 2011, I spoke to the Rotary Club of Centre, AL, and gave them an update on our Extended Family for Kids program – and there was a lot to tell!

Four years ago when I created Extended Family for Kids, a 9-session program for children of the incarcerated, I had no idea how far it would go. Today the program is in nine states, from New Mexico to New York, from Florida to Indiana.

We are now in talks with Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Alabama Children’s Trust fund about the possibility of doing Extended Family for Kids with their “Bigs” and “Littles” through a Mentoring Children of Prisoners grant. (By the way – Big Brothers Big Sisters is a great way to mentor a child who has a loved one incarcerated – so check out your local chapter if you want to be involved in that great program.)

Today’s Rotary Club audience was made up of the leaders of Cherokee County, AL – large and small business owners, hospital and college administrators, retired politicians – and they were extremely supportive of Extended Family for Kids.

If your community group would like to hear the Extended Family for Kids story, or an update from the last time I talked to you, please give us a call at 256-927-7996, or e-mail us a date and time so we can get you on the schedule.

Stay tuned…..

Laure Clemons
executive director
Extended Family

Events

please join us for

EXTENDED FAMILY'S 7th ANNUAL CELEBRATION

Saturday, Nov. 6, 6 - 8 p.m. CST
Chamber of Commerce meeting room
Gadsden State-Cherokee Community College campus
801 Cedar Bluff road, Centre, AL 35960

• Guest speaker Curtis Edenfield from Dallas, Texas
• Complimentary dinner
• Entertainment by singer/songwriter Ronald Watkins, Montgomery, AL
• Special appearance by everyone's favorite "celebrity" from Mayberry
• Door prizes, and more!

QUESTIONS? Call 256-927-7997 or e-mail extendedfamily@tds.net

Hotel accomodations: Days Inn, 1585 West Main Street, Centre, 256-927-7927.