A new and exciting program launched by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will offer local young adults free relationship, financial and parenting workshops.

The program, known as Success…powered by YOU [SPY], will provide informational virtual classes and some person-to-person workshops for 18-24 year-olds living in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson counties. SPY was established this year by a grant from United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

“Our workshops are normally two hours long, once a week, for approximately six weeks. We also provide a free lunch or dinner for our person-to-person workshop participants,” said Chasitdy Love, program coordinator for Brazos and Grimes Counties.

The “healthy relationships” portion of the program, known as Within My Reach, provides effective ways for couples and individuals to communicate and solve problems when conflicts arise. The parenting class, known as Common Sense Parenting, focuses on discipline tactics and stress management. With financial management, or Money Smart, participants can learn financial awareness and money math, gaining an understanding of credit and budgeting, as well as retirement planning.

“Our primary focus is healthy relationships. The Within My Reach curriculum was specifically written for young adults and individuals. There is a big focus on safe relationships and defining what is a safe relationship and what is an unsafe relationship. Most people know how to determine their physical safety, but we also teach on how to evaluate emotional safety,” said Laurie Naumann, project director.

Participants can received up to $230 incentive after completion of all workshops.

The program is not a form of one-on-one counseling, but rather an educational resource, although SPY partners with various organizations and nonprofits in the area and are able to make recommendations for those in need of help. “We are trying to face and address people’s problems before they occur, and provide resources for those people to maintain that,” said Love.

Love explained that when AgriLife first initiated the program, a major goal was to serve the public with dignity and to provide valuable resources to young adults through a structured, but relaxed environment. While resources already exist for families going through struggles, many people don’t want to be labeled as low-income, in need, troubled or identified based on a particular issue.

“You can never have enough preventative counseling and prevention programs,” Love said. “But there is a need for this type of program in the Brazos Valley without a stigma attached.”

All of SPY’s workshops are free! The program also partners with numerous local churches, school districts, health centers and nonprofits that can provide additional resources for participants.

For more information about the SPY program or workshops, call 979.321.5248, spybrazos@gmail.com or their website: families.tamu.edu.

Hearne, TX—Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley  hosted their first marriage and relationship retreat of 2020 at the First Baptist Church’s Family Life Center in Hearne in February. Over 40 couples from around the Brazos Valley attended the two-day retreat which featured PREP [Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program]:  Successful relationships. Successful lives.

SYNERGY  isn’t designed for group therapy or ask couples to share their personal feelings, emotions or intimate thoughts with others but to spend time together by participating in interactive workshops, private couple time and other group activities.

The retreat also provided couples with the tools they need to encourage, inspire and rejuvenate their relationships and friendships. Couples also had the opportunity for one-on-one private time to provide an environment to process with each other on how they can apply the tools and retreat sessions to move toward a deeper connection.   Nairman Elijaouhari and James Michie have been a couple for six months and engaged for two months.  Their wedding ceremony will be held on August 30th, 2020.

“We would highly recommend SYNERGY to any couple, whether seriously dating or married for 40 years, because this retreat focuses on real issues and real steps that can be taken to develop better communication, healthier relationships, and better understanding between partners. Honestly, the retreat gave us a lot of good information for relationships in general, not just relationship with each other, said Nairman.”

Couples were treated to catered meals, light breakfast and desserts throughout the weekend.  Many  couples won great giveaways donated by local businesses in the Brazos Valley and Robertson County.

Plans are already underway for the next retreat which will be in Brazos County in the Spring.

SFBV is a program within the Texas A&M Extension Service. The program provides free services to families in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson Counties. They offer courses to individuals and couples 18+ in Parenting, Healthy Relationships and Financial Education also known as Money$ense.

For more information about SFBV’s programs and SYNERGY please visit, families.edu.tamu by email, sfbrazos@gmail.com or 979-862-1915.

Madison County, Tx–  The Fall frigid weather in November didn’t stop over 40 couples from attending Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley’s last  SYNERGY (marriage and relationship retreat) of 2019 in Madisonville.   The two-day retreat featured PREP [Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program]: Successful relationships, Successful lives.

The couples who attended the retreat participated in inter-active workshops and other team building activities. They also discovered new ways to listen to one another and communicate effectively. They found tools and resources to make their relationships better and happier.  Edward and Melissa Easley, traveled from Caldwell, TX to attend the retreat. “After 27 years of marriage, we had let our relationship and communication slide away in favor of family needs. We learned that if we didn’t make time for our marriage, little resentments build up and become festering anger. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of each other. If we just talk openly and honestly, the little things get worked out.  Making time for communication and respecting the need for a time out when there is too much emotion involved was also learned. The experience of seeing the wonders of the “new” relationships who had been together for less than a year compared to our marriage was such fun for us. We both got such delight in the look of surprise from the two couples we shared discussions with when we said we’d been together for 28 years. It also reminded us not to take for granted that just because we’ve been together for so long, doesn’t mean the work is done. It is a lifelong journey, and that is what we learned from the Synergy retreat!”, said Melissa.

Lauren Vidaurri and Joshua Ramos have been involved in an intimate relationship for almost two years and said they would highly recommend the retreat to other couples. “I would definitely recommend SFBV’s retreat to others because it was an amazing experience. It was great to learn new tools that will strengthen our relationship.” said, Lauren. 

Couples were treated to two catered meals and many won great giveaways that were donated by businesses in Bryan-College Station and Madisonville.

The first retreat of 2020 will be held in Robertson County on February 7^th and 8^th. For more details contact, Caroline Tanner at 979-458-2551 or Caroline.Tanner@ag.tamu.edu.

SFBV program serves five counties: Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson. The programs and retreats are fully funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: #90FM0099.  The services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability or religion.

College Station, Texas –There’s nothing quite like a stylish new backpack and supplies to start the school year, but the cost of providing for a family of children at once can be overwhelming to parents.

“I have four children in school and any assistance I can receive helps me. It’s a blessing to have a program [SFBV] that cares about our children in the community and where parents can get valuable resources as they prepare for the upcoming school year,” said Cee Williams, a Navasota mother.

Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley program covered five counties and traveled over 100 miles in three weeks to provide over 700 backpacks filled with supplies to Brazos Valley area families for its 4th annual “Back-to-School” event.

“It’s a way to give back to the community and let them know we are there and support them and their families. It’s also a great way for SFBV to work with other organizations to showcase what we do and by teaming up with them we are able to reach more people in the communities,” said, Laurie Naumann, SFBV Program Manager.

SFBV is a program within the Texas A&M Extension Service. The program provides free services to families in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson Counties. They offer courses to individuals and couples 18+ in Parenting, Healthy Relationships and Financial Education also known as Money$ense.

For more information about the program and its services, visit families.tamu.edu.

College Station–Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley hosted their first SYNERGY ( marriage and relationship retreat) of 2019 in February. Over 70 couples from around the Brazos Valley attended the two-day retreat which featured PREP [Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program]: Successful relationships. Successful lives.

SYNERGY provided couples with the tools they need to encourage, inspire and rejuvenate their relationships. Couples also had the opportunity for one-on-one private times to provide an environment to process with each other on how they can apply those tools and discussions to move toward a deeper connection.

Melanie Seltzer and Charles Micheal are engaged and found the “The Speaker Listener” session to be very helpful. “that workshop helped us to tackle recent issues that we had been going through and just by attending this retreat we have already applied the techniques learned to come to a resolution. I have learned how to stop and “listen” to what she’s saying rather than paraphrasing and formulating an answer before she has asked the question.” said, Charles.

Couples were treated to two catered meals, light breakfast and desserts throughout the weekend. Many couples won great give-aways (tour and wine tasting, gift certificates and couples painting sessions) donated by local businesses in the Brazos Valley.

Plans are already underway for the next retreat which will be held in the Spring in Grimes County.

There are no fees for the retreat. The retreat and SFBV’s programs are fully funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

For more details about the SFBV’s program or retreat please visit their website: families.tamu.edu or email, Sfbrazos@gmail.com

Funding for this project was provided by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: #90FM0099. These services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or religion.

A Synergy couple practices the “Speaker Listener” activity.

Hearne, TX–There was a certain ‘Synergy’ in the air in Hearne during the first weekend in November.  More than 50 married, engaged and dating couples from around the Brazos Valley attended Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley’s marriage and relationship retreat.

The two-day retreat held at the First Baptist Church Activity Center was designed to help couples to effectively communicate, work through conflict in a skilled way and to be affectionate with each other.  The retreat also created an environment where couples listened to one another by participating in various individual and group workshops. Couples had the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past by repairing breeches of trust for the future. Newlyweds, Melissa Busby and Justin Busby have only been married for three weeks and decided to attend the retreat.  “We already had a strong and healthy relationship but by attending the retreat reconfirmed our love for one another.  It helped us to build a stronger foundation with each other and how to communicate effectively.  We both have children from previous marriages, but the workshops helped us to come together as a family when it comes to solving problems and doing family activities.” said, Justin.

Couples walked away with tools they need to experience a deeply fulfilling, passionate and lasting partnership. The retreat made it easy and enjoyable to have deep conversations in a safe and structured environment.  Dennis Hoffman and Maria Medrano have been dating for 10 months and found the communication workshop was very helpful to them.  “I realized that even though we are constantly talking, we had not communicated with each other about the more important subjects(finances, relationships, goals). 10 months have really been a date, but now we are heading in the direction of a more serious relationship. The retreat provided great tools for the future that we can use in the event we do run into real or more serious issues or experiences.” said, Maria.

In addition to fulfilling their love, couples also ‘filled-up’ their tummies with catered meals on Friday and Saturday.  Some even won great giveaways donated by businesses from around the Brazos Valley!

SFBV hosts the retreat in the five counties it serves (Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson) and each retreat has shown a spike in attendance. “This was the 7th retreat and it has grown both in content and in numbers.  The numbers have increased primarily to the Texas A&M University’s eBlast[email] that we started using last fall, but  I think we’ve also grown due to the increased awareness about SFBV in the community.  We’ve tweaked the content a couple of times, but this last retreat[Robertson County] was the first one we actually increased the content for.” said, Laurie Naumann, Program Manager.

The programs and retreats are fully funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

For more information about SFBV’s programs and future retreats, please visit their website:  families.tamu.edu or email, sfbrazos@gmail.com.

A participant is all smiles after receiving her backpack at the Burleson County Back-to-School Blast.

College Station, Tx–It was a  busy two weeks from August 6th-August 18th for the Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley program. Staff members and volunteers traveled over 100 miles across four counties to deliver over 500 free backpacks for children of all ages throughout the Brazos Valley.

“It’s a great service for the community and it’s a way for us to give back to the people who support us and to let the communities know that we are here for them when they need us.” said, Laurie Naumann, SFBV Program Manager.

In addition to the backpacks, many counties offered health screenings, free school supplies and valuable resources for parents. Lisa Williams has three children in Navasota I.S.D.  “I’ve been attending this event for at least four years now in Grimes County and so far this year’s back to school fair was the best one. There were so many vendors with valuable information for parents and students. And the free backpacks provided by SFBV was much appreciated. It’s great to have a program that cares about the community. It’s also a blessing in disguise for many parents who can’t afford to get their children a backpack and school supplies to start the new school year.” said, Williams.

SFBV is a program within the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and provide free services to families in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson Counties. They offer courses to individuals and couples 18+ in Parenting and Financial Education also known as Money$ense. The program also offers a two-day  marriage retreat known as Synergy to married, engaged or dating couples.

The program is funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: #90FM0099. These services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability or religion.

For more information about the program or Synergy, visit families.tamu.edu or email, sfbrazos@gmail.com.

A Synergy couple finds their personality color during the Personality session.

Madisonville,Tx–Two days of 100-degree heat didn’t stop over 40 couples from attending SFBV’S  first ever marriage and relationship retreat in Madisonville on July 20th and 21st.

The day and a half retreat helped couples around the Brazos Valley and couples as far as Edinburg, Austin and Humble, Tx  to reaffirm their love, improve intimacy, gain healthy (effective) communication skills and have fun in their relationship.

Virginia Redwine and Landon Johnson are two months away from their wedding and found the “Speaker/Listener” session most effective. ” I learned that content can be overshadowed by delivery. Your delivery has to be just as important if not more important than the content or information you are trying to relay. No matter how good the information is that you are trying to relay, if you can’t find a way to make it palatable to your partner, then it’s in vain.”  said, Johnson.

The retreat is not a substitute for marriage therapy.  It’s designed to provide couples with the tools they need in order to have a healthier relationship and assist couples with their emotion connection, and closeness.

Jon and Sandie Bennett have been married for more than 35 years and learned so much by attending the retreat. “The one of many things I can take away from the retreat is that it awakened me to reassess some things I already knew that maybe I hadn’t been applying very well or maybe I forgotten to apply and it’s time to rethink and reapply some things learned at the retreat to my life.  We’ve been married a long time and we presume too much along the way and it’s time to rethink how we live each day and the “Personality” session caused me to rethink everything on what we do and why we do it.  I think now it’s going to be a much better time for me and Sandie from here on.” said, Bennett.

Couples were treated to two catered meals and many walked away with great give-aways that were donated by businesses in Bryan-College Station and Madisonville.

Jubal and Evonne Garcia traveled 6 hours to attend the retreat and had never eaten cheesy chicken spaghetti! “This was our first time having this type of spaghetti and it was absolutely delightful. We are going to try to make this dish when we get home.” said, Garcia.

SFBV program serves five counties: Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison and Robertson. The next marriage and relationship retreat will be in Robertson County in November 2018. More details will be posted as soon as they become available at families.tamu.edu.

The retreat was fully funded by the United States Deparment of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: #90FM0099. These services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability or religion.

Couples practice the “Speaker-Listener” exercise at Synergy. (photo by Dr. Lakshmi Mahadevan, SFBV Staff)

Bryan, Tx–Strengthening Families of the Brazos Valley hosted their 5th marriage and relationship retreat at St. Joseph’s Parish Activity Center over the weekend. The retreat was designed for couples wanting to maintain a healthy relationship and  to help couples reach their relationship goals in a reasonable amount of time through intense but fun workshops.

Brittany and Curtis Allen have been married for three years and glad they attended the retreat. “The retreat gave us the opportunity to have conversations that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We learned so many new things about each other that we didn’t realize before or just had simply overlooked. It opened our eyes to a whole new perspective about each other.” , said Brittany.

The couples who attended the retreat participated in inter-active workshops and other team building activities.  Throughout the two days, couples discovered new ways to truly listen to one another, communicate effectively, forgive and heal. They found ideas, tools and resources to make their relationships better and happier.

“We [Samantha Kimball and Joshua Hughes] are just nearly two years into our relationship and some couples have been in relationships for decades but whatever the case may be, as a couple you still need to set aside time to talk about issues you may have. Everyone can work harder to have better communication and confrontational skills so you can preempt problems before they start. Always remember you are both on the same team when you do have problems and work together to solve those problems.”, said Joshua Hughes.

Couples were treated to two catered meals and some lucky couples walked away with great door prizes and gift cards donated by local businesses in the Brazos Valley.

Plans are already underway for the next retreat which will be held in July 2018. More details will be posted when they become available at families.tamu.edu.

The retreat was fully funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: #90FM0099. These services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or religion.