Strengthening Family Ties in Detroit with Software Donations
The divorce rate is nearly 80 percent in Detroit, Michigan (part of Wayne County). The Marriage Resource Center (MRC) of Wayne County's purpose is to promote healthy marriages throughout the region. It aims to improve the quality of marriage, relationships, and family life for both adults and children. The MRC offers programs and services for individuals and couples at every stage of pre-marriage and marriage. The organization brings together like-minded individuals and organizations who work to strengthen marriages and reduce divorce rates. In 2008, the MRC helped 864 singles avoid potentially dangerous dating relationships, arranged for 175 high school students to learn healthy relationship skills, and taught 58 couples effective communication and conflict resolution skills.
The MRC's primary means of effecting change in its communities is through its Healthy Relationship workshops. These workshops require recruiting efforts, registration and tracking of individuals, informative presentations, and evaluations. Microsoft software is essential to a good workshop: Publisher and Word help staff to create promotional brochures and flyers. Staff also set up registration forms, sign-in sheets, tests, and evaluations in Word and Excel; create presentations in PowerPoint; and enter all attendees' contact information into an Access database.
