Our first encounter with a photo-a-day challenge has been through the Australian blogger FatMumSlim (@fatmumslim). We’ve been following this wonderful blog (written by a young mom named Chantelle) for a few months, and have continued to be enthused.

Each month, FatMumSlim provides a photo sharing challenge that asks her followers to be inspired by the items around them. She asks that followers share their photos each day, and we found out about this fun activity through one of her dedicated followers.

Cathy Monetti (@cathymonetti) is a strong Tell Them advocate and partner at Riggs Partners, the most creative and talented Public Relations firm in the world (at least Tell Them Staff thinks so). Based in Columbia, SC, Cathy is an avid Instagram user- in fact, to quote one of Cathy’s recent blog posts, “I have a bit of an obsession with Instagram.”

According to Cathy, “this free little download has changed everything about the way I look at the world around me. Partly because it’s just fun to keep an eye out for an interesting something that might make a swell photo. But also because I am wildly inspired by the images that are delivered to me, right there in my Instagram feed. There is something fascinating about seeing ordinary, daily life transformed into magical crops, viewed through someone else’s life lens.”

Cathy has been participating in a “Photo-A-Day Challenge” each month, and as one of her many followers, the Tell Them team couldn’t help but be pulled in.

These two ladies have inspired Tell Them to use photo-sharing as a way to encourage awareness and advocacy. Thank you for the fantastic idea!

We believe that one of the best ways to combat teen pregnancy rates is to teach and encourage healthy relationships to young people. In this spirit of spring and new beginnings, we have created a fun activity to encourage ongoing discussions of healthy relationships and what they mean to each of us.

Welcome to our Healthy Relationships May Photo-A-Day Challenge.

Use your camera phone (or camera) and take a photo every day using the above list to inspire you. Each item on the list corresponds to the day of the month. For example, on May 1st, the word is “reflection” so you could take a photo of yourself in a mirror or a window, or a photo of someone else “reflecting” on something. There are no rules – just let yourself be inspired.

Once you have taken your photo, please share it with us! Make sure you attach #TTMayPhoto to your posts so we can all see them!

• - INSTAGRAM: Upload your photo to Instagram, add a filter and put #TTMayPhoto in the caption so others can see your photos {share to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr etc from Instagram if you like}
• - FACEBOOK: Create an album titled something like, May Photo Challenge, and make the album public, then upload your photos. It’s a good idea to upload the list too so you can refer to it and others can see what you’re doing. You can also share your photos on the Tell Them Facebook page or tag Tell Them in your posted.
• - TWITTER: Remembering you 140 character limit (139 once you add the hashtag), describe your inspiration and tweet out your photo. Remember to add the hashtag #TTMayPhoto so others can see your photos
• - PINTEREST: Upload your photos to a board, and use the hashtag #TTMayPhoto so that others can search for them.
• - BLOGS & TUMBLR: Upload your photos to your blog or Tumblr and share with the world.
• - EMAIL: Send your photos to info@tellthemsc.org and we’ll post them on our sites.

You can share the links to where ever you’re sharing the photos in the comments below if you like.

Happy photo-taking! We’re excited to see how you inspire healthy relatonships in your daily life.

By Emily Rogers, a member of the SWARM Youth Council and student at the College of Charleston

My liberal (arts) college allows us to distribute condoms out in the open in the center of campus or anywhere really. But, there’s finesse to how to do give them away. In a school of 10,000 undergraduates you’d think they’d get picked up by the handful regardless of the situation. But I’ve learned it’s not always so easy.  Why don’t some college students take FREE condoms!?

Shame. Embarrassment. Apathy. Misinformation. All of the above?

I’ve gone out a few times to hand condoms out somewhere where I’ve set up a table.  I’ve even dressed up and in costumes to make people less weary.  But some students walk past me without making eye contact.  I’ve been told: “my girlfriend is on the pill, so we don’t have to worry,” and some tell me their boyfriends take care of that.

My response to those students and all young people…. there is no shame in safe sex, it never hurts to be doubly careful, and ladies take your health in your own hands! Carry condoms– especially if they’re free.

But a little advice I do have is to be bold while handing condoms out.  The night I wore a kitty costume was a pretty big success.  The other time when I went to the Colbert Rally (Yeah, that was here.) I got a complete stranger to hold a huge foam board with the phrase “FREE CONDOMS” on one side and “SC NEEDS REAL SEX-ED” on the other.  People flocked to me.  I gave out 500+ condoms in just a matter of an hour or two.  Ha. As the band walked by about half of them came over and snagged a couple.

So, it’s good to have them readily available in your living space where your guests can just take one or two, but if you make it a “BIG TO-DO,” it’ll take on a life of its own.  You’ll be out of stock before you can say: “Great American Condom Campaign!!!”

Download the application here

This event will bring together people from across the state to celebrate the power of women. According to Unitewomen.org, this is the first time in American history that a simultaneous rally will be happenings in all 50 states!

Join us on Saturday, April 28th, from 11am-1pm at the South Carolina Statehouse

DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION HERE

Council Goals:

1. 1. Raise awareness among South Carolina youth about the need for STI and pregnancy prevention efforts for themselves and other young people.
2. 2. Advocate improving sex education policies that effect students in South Carolina and other policy priorities.
3. 3. Empower other youth to get involved in their communities.
4.   

What can YOU expect?

• • $100 per month stipend
• • Meet, work with, and learn from amazing young leaders across the state and country
• • Gain information and skills that you will be able to capitalize on throughout your academic and future careers.
• • Collaborate and make connections with Tell Them and Advocates for Youth staff who care about these issues as much as you do.
• • Share your experience and perspective.
• • Hard work, excitement, and fun… all while making a difference!
• • The opportunity to travel, and attend trainings across the state and country
•   

Who can Apply?

Anyone meeting the following qualifications is encouraged to apply for S.W.A.R.M.

1. 1. Be currently enrolled in a South Carolina college and between the ages of 18-24.
2. 2. Be able to commit to the S.W.A.R.M. Council for a minimum of one school year.
3. 3. Participate in bi-monthly conference calls
4. 4. Complete presentations, events, and write personalized blogs
5. 5. Participate in activities to continue building a strong base of advocates in the community and on campus.
6.   

Interested?

Please contact us with any questions. Then fill out the application and email, fax, or mail the application back to Tell Them by May 10, 2012. We will conduct interviews for selected candidates. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

Email: tallen@newmorningfoundation.org
Phone: (803) 929-0088       
Fax: (803) 929-0089

This fantastic event is held annually by Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands “ask men literally to walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes to rally the community to fight against sexual violence.” The goal is to bring awareness to the issues surrounding sexual violence, and to show that this is not a “woman’s” problem. Sexual assault hurts both men and women – and our community as a whole.

The services STSM provides are vital to our community. Teens with a history of sexual abuse are likely to rarely use birth control. Studies indicate that a woman who has experienced sexual violence has an increased risk of HIV and STI transmission, chronic health problems, premature birth and low birth weight. 2 out of 3 mothers who experience domestic violence at the hands of their partners experienced birth control sabotaged by a partner. Among women who are physically abused during their pregnancy, 70% had not intended on becoming pregnant.

This will be Tell Them’s 3rd year participating and we are more excited than ever. We have been outdone by other groups in the past for their creative footwear and team spirit – not this year! We have gathered advocates from across the Midlands to join us in our walk – men, women, and maybe event pets! We’ll be proudly wearing our Tell Them and SWARM t-shirts to show our support of preventing sexual assaults, and particularly, Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands.

Join Team Tell Them as we walk a mile in their shoes. The event begins at the Columbia Convention Center at 6pm Thursday, April 12. This year USC’s Cocky will be walking with us and the Benedict College’s Drum Line will be leading the procession! There will be face painting done by a professional clown, an animal balloon twister and a juggler on site! Bring the whole family for this fun filled event! Don’t miss it!

On the April 3rd edition of “The View,” South Carolina governor Nikki Haley made the following  statement: “Women need to get involved in office…we need real people running for office, because we need to make sure that we’re getting our experiences out and that we’re telling our story.”

You won’t hear any disagreement from me on that front—I do think that it’s imperative that we have female legislators who can speak up for women’s causes. Unfortunately, Governor Haley proved yesterday that she is not such a legislator.

In the midst of pontificating about her experiences of marginalization in our state, Nikki Haley was asked about the tendency to associate female representatives with reproductive health care causes, such as the current debate surrounding contraception. Her response: “Women don’t care about contraception. They care about jobs and the economy and raising their families and all of those things.”

You’re right, Governor Haley. I do care about the economy. I care about the fact that unplanned teenage pregnancies cost South Carolina taxpayers at least $197 million in 2008. I care about the fact that in that same year, teenage childbearing cost our country approximately $10.9 billion.

And jobs? Right again. I care deeply about jobs in this state. And my job happens to be making sure that the young women of South Carolina are afforded access to medically accurate, age-appropriate reproductive health care information and services, including contraception… It’s my job to make sure that our representatives are doing everything in their power to make sure that said access is not hindered or restricted via legislation.

My family? Funny you mention that…I’ve elected to postpone starting a family until I’ve achieved the educational and career goals that I established for myself. Right now, my family consists of myself and a boyfriend, and both of us are working our way through graduate school in order to provide the best possible futures for ourselves and the family we hope to have one day; contraception is a big part of making sure that we can do that.

I am a woman in South Carolina, and I care about contraception. If Governor Haley truly wants to speak for the women of our state, and accurately represent the voice of her constituency, she needs to make sure that she’s telling the real story.

Tell Governor Haley that YOU care about contraception by sending her an email!

Some people oppose birth control. Their ideology equates all contraception with abortion. They refute the facts of mainstream medicine, claim that serious female health problems can be cured by having children, and see sexually transmitted diseases as just punishment. They want to make birth control illegal. The problem is some of them actually could.

Contraception is basic, essential healthcare. 88% of Americans support access to birth control, and 99% of sexually active American women have used some form of birth control during their lives. In fact, leading medical groups in the United States, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, support access to reliable contraception as part of basic healthcare.
 
Access to these options and the medical facts to help decide which type of contraception is right for you is a natural right. Women need to be given the most accurate information so that they can make informed decisions about their health. Any legislation that interferes with the relationship between physicians, nurses, clinicians and their patients is a restriction of rights that is unacceptable.

Such legislative efforts may include:

• • Imposing reporting requirements on physicians, nurses and clinicians which could remove the basic right of privacy when dealing with medical records.
• • Conscience clauses, which could create roadblocks to women trying to access birth control and other reproductive health services;
• • Mandates which could impose requirements upon women seeking reproductive health services.
•   

We support legislation and state appropriations that advance family planning, contraception and reproductive health education in schools, communities, and clinics.

Wearing a facial expression that tells of life’s more bitter lessons, a high school student in South Carolina confesses to her school clinic provider that if she were allowed to ask for contraception at the Health Center, she would have. And, she says, “I probably wouldn’t be pregnant right now.”

A colleague of mine who works as a Nurse Practitioner at a school-based clinic in South Carolina shared that story with me. Since the beginning of this school year four teens at her school have become pregnant. She said, “Their lives were altered beyond prediction”. What was especially frustrating to this provider was the comment from the student mentioned above that she would have sought and received contraception, but what she left out was a vital phrase: IF it were permitted by state policy.

The Comprehensive Health Education Act of South Carolina (1988) restricts my colleague from effectively discussing family planning services and distributing contraception at school health centers. This restriction creates a missed opportunity for teens seeking care at the eight school-based clinics in our state. South Carolina ranks unnecessarily high in the national rankings for teen pregnancy (13th). Teen pregnancy is the most common reason for girls dropping out of school.  We don’t have stellar rankings for graduation rates, either: SC is 48th for high school dropout rates.

It doesn’t have to be this way. School health clinics in several states provide these services. A recent report in Minnesota Medicine (Sept 2010) describes 18 model school based clinics that provide students easy access to primary care services including STD treatment and birth control. The first two clinics in Minnesota opened in 1973 in response to rising teen pregnancy rates, and providers noted a 40% drop in teen pregnancy rates within three years. The majority of parents in the districts that have school-based clinics support them. They like that services are easily accessible, that their teens have a safe place to talk, and that clinic staff are experienced in talking to teens about health issues such as sex and pregnancy prevention, drug use, and other high-risk behaviors.

Will providing contraception in school clinics lead to teens having sex? No. Studies indicate that providing contraceptives in school-based clinics does not lead to earlier or increased sexual activity. Having reproductive services available does help more sexually active females receive pregnancy or disease prevention care, STD screening, and they are more likely to use hormonal contraceptives. Further, ensuring strategies that improve students’ health, such as access to family planning services, can help prevent school dropout and improve graduation rates.

Can’t teens go to other clinics for these services?  Yes, but students actively engage with their school-based clinic providers. Sometimes it is the only provider that they have access to. In many cases, the closest Health Department or community health center is over 20 miles away. For many students finding transportation to other clinics is nearly impossible, and their schedule conflicts with clinic hours.

It’s time to change the Comprehensive Health Education Act to allow providers in school based health clinics to offer reproductive services.

Take Action: Sign the Bill of Rights now and have your voice heard at the Statehouse on Bee Day.