All About Abstinence

The spring semester is finished and we have wonderful news to report! The Creating Positive Relationships (CPR) curriculum was presented to 1,501 students this past spring semester, giving us a 2016-2017 school year grand total of 3,117 students! We are also excited to announce that our course surveys indicate that 85% of the students taught the curriculum chose abstinence and/or secondary abstinence! Additionally, we are very encouraged by the 10% increase in sexual health knowledge gained by the students through the program's teachings.Thirty-two Pope John Paul II Middle Schoolers participated in CPR for the first time this year. SRA Instructor, Shannon Ulrich, was also able to use CPR materials to develop a course for a religion class at St. Mary's Catholic Church. It was a privilege to expand the CPR program to Madison County! We closed out the year with the 7th graders at Highland Middle School in Anderson. The students learned that respecting themselves and others is fundamental to making healthy choices about their sexual behavior. We are looking forward to the fall and hope to be in more of the health classes at the second largest middle school in Indiana!New & Exciting ThingsFor the third summer in a row, we were asked to bring our abstinence program to the young men at George Jr. Republic Boys' Home in Gas City. GJR is a residential program for boys 13-19 years of age who are seeking to change the direction of their lives after making unwise choices. SRA Instructor Neil Habegger spent five days with six young men the first week of June. One young man said he was impacted by how important it is to set healthy boundaries for his relationships. What a blessing it is to be able to make a difference in the lives of these young men!FeedbackHere are just a few of comments we received from our high school students over the last year:• "I learned a lot about commitment."• "I've learned it’s ok not to do things others are doing."• "Thank you so much for this week! I am deciding to choose abstinence! You have really helped me learn about positive relationships. I am finally realizing I am in an abusive relationship."SRA InstructorsI am so grateful to have a team of instructors who are passionate about reaching the young people in our community with this positive message! Neil Habegger, Vicki Baur, Shannon Ulrich, and Beth Kresja – Thank you for your commitment and the fantastic job you do in the classroom! We are also looking forward to Bob Winebarger joining our team! Bob will be attending training next month and plans to begin teaching CPR in the fall. Welcome, Bob! I am also thrilled to report that a Burris school teacher will be attending CPR training! If you are a teacher and are interested teaching the Creating Positive Relationship curriculum to your class personally, First Choice will cover the cost of your training as well as the expenses associated with bringing a substitute teacher into your classroom while you are gone. Please contact me with questions, and please continue praying for us as we begin preparing for a new school year!