On Saturday, October 6th, 2018, Families of Character, a local Denver non-profit that focuses on raising virtuous families, will hold its first-ever parenting conference titled Intent to Thrive: Raising Kind Kids at Denver University from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, with a food truck lunch following. Free childcare will be provided, and childcare drop off begins at 8:30 AM.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Thomas Lickona has written “How to Raise Kind Kids: And Get Respect, Gratitude, and a Happier Family in the Bargain,” and will focus his talk on the theme for the conference: kindness. Lickona is a Developmental Psychologist and Professor of Education at the State University of New York at Cortland. Breakout sessions will include Male and Female He Created Them: Collaboration and Complementarity in the Family, Sports: Helping or Hurting Our Kids, and #Technology:FriendandFoe. There will also be a parent panel discussion speaking about how focusing on virtues has helped in the raising of their families. This is the first annual conference Families of Character will sponsor.
The conference is open to married couples who can attend together or individually, single parents, grandparents or anyone in a parenting role to children. Tickets can be purchased for $55 a couple, $35 for an individual a: https://www.familiesofcharacter.com/conference2018/ before September 22nd. Childcare registration will be cut off on September 24th. Following September 22nd tickets may be purchased online or at the door on the day of the event for $60 a couple, $40 an individual, but childcare registration will not be available.
Families of Character (FOC) believes every family was made to thrive and empowers parents to form character in themselves and their children. FOC is a virtues-based study program, with videos and study guides as tools to guide parents on how to instill virtues into their own lives, which in turn will instill virtue into their children’s lives. FOC believes we all want what’s best for our children as they grow up, but parenting can be hard and there is no magic formula for raising amazing kids. It takes hard work, dedication, and intentionality, and FOC is there to help guide and support parents along the way.
Steve Markel, Founder, and CEO, and his wife Nancy raised five children. Steve and Nancy guided parents in other parenting courses for many years. Along the way, Steve searched for the reason causing the breakdown of the family in our culture. His search came to an end when he discovered what was missing: there was a lack of character being lived and developed in families. He then felt called to start Families of Character.