Abstinence Never
Takes a Vacation
School’s Out,
and Healthy Respect Heads for Camp
After reaching more than 1,000 public school students
during the spring academic semester with a message of abstinence in
preparation for marriage, Healthy Respect began its first-ever
summer camp program at three New York locations. During the steamy summer
months, instructors are taking the message to young people outside the
classroom that abstinence does not take a vacation.
The Healthy Respect program is being presented to nearly
100 young men and women, ages 12 to 15, at the Yonkers YMCA, the Vanderbilt
YMCA in Manhattan and the East Harlem Children’s Aid Society,
also in Manhattan.
“We are very excited about this expansion of our program into
a summer camp setting, this is a new frontier for us,” said John
P. Margand, Esq., Executive Director of Healthy Respect.
“Expanding to summer camps underlines the fact that abstinence
in preparation for marriage is not just an academic subject –
it’s about skills and personal values that help young people lead
better lives and achieve their academic and career goals. We are also
pleased with the new partnerships we have made with established community
groups through this summer program, and hope that these partnerships
will grow as we proceed.”
In keeping with the Healthy Respect method that has proven
to be so successful during the school year, Healthy Respect
is providing its own trained instructors in male and female teams to
teach its effective abstinence curriculum in the summer camp settings.
“We have gotten a very warm reception at all the summer camp programs,”
said Christopher Williams, Healthy Respect’s Instructor
Supervisor. “The classes are a little less formal than during
the school year, and the instructors can use student-friendly methods
such as sitting around a table.”
“We are using the same Healthy Respect curriculum
and taking the parts that we think will be most effective for the students
in this setting,” said Zalika Warren, a senior instructor. “The
response from the young people has been very positive.”
Healthy Respect begins its fourth year in New York area
public schools in the fall.