OUR WHY.
The first team we have is our family. They’re the ones cheering us on from the beginning; learning to use a spoon, getting our driver’s license, navigating our first job, and everything in between. When we know we belong, that our family is united around us, we feel freedom to be who we were created to be.
But our culture is broken. Instead of turning to our families to help determine right and wrong, we’re being bombarded with how we should be living from every side. And, honestly, it takes a bit of grit to navigate all the division we face in life. We need a firm home base to return to in order to develop and live out strong character strengths in our daily lives to face the challenges of the world today.
Families of Character is committed to providing families the best tools to make home the most loving and unified place for children to grow. The goal is for them to understand that even if their family life feels off course or divided, change is always possible.
We explore the design of parents, the relational environment of home, and how to develop strong character traits within everyone in the family. All of these things lead to healthy relationships, more empathy and understanding, and, ultimately, becoming better parents and raising functional adults.
OUR Story.
Steve Markel—a very successful business owner and speaker—and his wife Nancy were busy raising their five young children when they found themselves feeling like most parents: overworked and overwhelmed. They would constantly ask themselves, “Does it ever get better?”
In an attempt to find the answer to this question, he and his wife took parenting courses and attended parenting seminars. They would even fly in prominent parenting speakers for their community. They were on the search for creating a more peaceful home that would set their kids up for success.
After years of looking, Steve’s search came to an end when he realized that the underlying problem in their home was a lack of character being lived. Steve and his wife researched the good habits that make up character and started working with their kids to live these habits. They were so blown away by the results, they knew it was their calling to share their secret with the world.
What transpired is Families of Character, a non-profit dedicated to providing parents with the tools to instill character in their homes.