In the first 24 hours, we sent over 2,500 emails and reached nearly every legislator in South Carolina. Tell Themmarchers have made a huge statement by speaking up about the need for responsible reproductive health policies.

For those of us who watched these incredible numbers come in over the past 2 days, we were struck by the incredible connection most marchers had with this issue, and how happy they were to finally have a voice and an outlet through which to communicate with policy makers.

Nearly 500 former residents of South Carolina and others who feel invested in our mission took action in the past 2 days. They sent almost 1,000 emails to Congressmen Clyburn and Spratt in Washington. Due to either the media coverage of the Virtual March, or because you were so effective in getting your friends and family to join up, over 160 new people join Tell Themsince the march began. Marchers called and emailed the office throughout the march, just to check in and see if there was anything else they could do. Facebook and Twitter were going crazy with all the comments and retweets. It’s been a very exciting few days!

Congratulations to Amy Holleman of Columbia for winning the Slane & Slane Jewelry giveaway. More than 200 references came in since we started the giveaway, and we thank every person who took it upon themselves to recruit their friends, family, coworkers… the numbers just poured in! Amy has been a long-time Tell Them member and active advocate. She hosted Kelly and I at Columbia’s Drinking Liberally a week before the march, and even sent me emails early in the morning to confirm that all her referees had singed up. We were so happy when we pulled her name out of our “Queen Bee Bag.” Congratulations Amy, and thank you for everything you’ve done for us.

Our network is now stronger than ever, and we are ready to move forward in this legislative session and make some positive change. The full results from the Virtual March aren’t in yet because Marchers are STILL taking action! When we have final numbers, we’ll be sure to share them. For now, we say thank you for all your efforts and hard work.

Studies have found that 11% of the content in media consumed by 12-14 year olds was sexual in nature. That includes the internet, magazines, movies, music, newspapers and TV. Studies show that the more sexual media a young adult sees, the more likely he or she is to be sexually active and to anticipate future sexual activity.

Sex is a public issue, and therefore should be discussed regularly and openly. We owe it to the youth of America to give them training and information about how to examine these messages and ideas and then determine the right decisions for themselves.

The healthiest families are those in which parents and children can talk honestly and frankly about important issues. Kids are not stupid, and they have legitimate questions. Who would you rather have them go to for answers- the adults in their lives, or the media?