Extended Family is fortunate to have Extended Family Leadership Academy (EFLA), a program designed for our middle and high school students. Since beginning in 2018, EFLA has been a meaningful asset to our community of young adults. EFLA meets once a week, during the school day, for 45 minutes. EFLA is guided by its motto, “Lead Yourself.” Each week, our dedicated staff and volunteers work hard to help students build confidence, make positive choices, and take charge of their own futures.
Throughout the year, EFLA welcomes several outstanding guest speakers. One of these speakers is Mrs. Laura Browder, Mental Health Coordinator for Cherokee County Schools.
In her recent presentation on relationships, Mrs. Browder helped students learn to identify the qualities of a healthy relationship, as well as the warning signs of an unhealthy or abusive one. One visual tool she used was a “Relationship Spectrum” handout that clearly outlines these differences.
While discussing signs of unhealthy relationships, Mrs. Browder asked students to share red flags they might notice. One student mentioned “love bombing.” When asked to explain what love bombing is, the student used examples such as, “If you love me, you’ll do this,” “I love you so much, I can’t live without you,” or even just saying “I love you” shortly after meeting. Mrs. Browder agreed that these were indeed warning signs and gave them tips to recognize these red flags and to end this type of unhealthy relationship.
Lessons like this are important to our young adults because not all of them have experienced healthy relationships and they might not recognize an unhealthy one. We are incredibly grateful to Mrs. Laura Browder and all our wonderful speakers and volunteers who help bring our motto, “To offer help and inspire hope,” to life each week.
We are also deeply thankful for our supporters who partner with us in countless ways to strengthen Extended Family and its programs. If you are interested in supporting Extended Family or Extended Family programs in your community, please visit www.extendedfamilyhelp.org.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for remembering Extended Family on Giving Tuesday, December 2, 2025.