Bill Kagey and his wife, Angie, have been working to help teens stay abstinent with the nonprofit organization, Impact.
Abstinence can be hard for anyone, but more so for teens. They have to deal with peer pressure and influences from the media. So are teens practicing abstinence? According to a March 2011 article on the Abstinence and Marriage Education Partnership website, www.ampartnership.org, more teens are waiting to have sex.
“New data released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirms that the majority of teens are not having sex. Approximately 68 percent of boys and 67 percent of girls (ages 15-17) have never had sexual intercourse. This is a positive change from 2002 when only 46 percent of boys and 49 percent of girls reported no sexual contact.”
So what has caused this change? Bill Kagey, of Impact in Brandon, believes education is the key. Impact is a non-profit organization that teaches abstinence and offers programs that promote healthy lifestyles and relationships through their Teen Impact program. It also offers programs on abstinence for parents and educators as well.
Last year, Impact spoke to 36 schools, partnered with 132 teachers and spoke to 13,440 students. At the end of the teen program, Kagey gives the students an opportunity to sign a contract to remain abstinent for one year from tobacco, sex, drugs and alcohol.
“I have been doing this for the past 11 years in this county and every week I run into students who went through our program and they tell me they are still waiting,” Kagey said, “These are students who made the commitment five to seven years ago as freshman in high school and are now in college.” He said they really do want to wait to have sex. Impact also does community fundraising events.
A dessert gala is being held Tuesday, May 8 at Tampa Palms. Kagey said that the organization is in need of a van to transport students who work with the teen program. For more information offered by Impact you can visit www.whatisimpact.com or contact Kagey at 600-9446.
