DETROIT – On Saturday, September, 15, 2012, MOTIVITY, sponsored by St. John Health Systems, will host its first annual 5k walk-run to help combat some of the myths surrounding teenagers and sex and to educate metro Detroit youth about abstinence. The walk-run will take place at Belle Isle Park, from 8:30 a.m. - noon, and includes entertainment, refreshments, and giveaways for everyone.
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Since October 2011, MOTIVITY, a 501c3 non-profit youth organization, has been accepting reasons as to why teens should wait to have sex. During the walk-run, participants will collectively walk a mile for the 200+ reasons submitted. Males and females, from teenagers to seniors, have submitted reasons via Facebook, email, and through the MOTIVITY website. Some people even shared stories of how engaging in teenage sex led to single parenthood, jail time, dropping out of school, and the loss of college scholarships and career opportunities.
"Most teenagers have sex not because they want to, but because they feel pressured to, and they falsely think that 'everyone else is doing it.' When in fact, 50% of teens do not engage in sex," says Donna Pinchum, founder of MOTIVITY. "We are also living in a society where our kids are being flooded with sexual messages - from the lyrics in today's music to the candy and shampoo commercials, whether directly or indirectly, everything is selling sex."
Teen sex is having a major impact on metro Detroit. Here are some 2010 facts for Detroit:
Of the 2421 teen births in Detroit:
44 were to girls under age 14
875 were to girls ages 15-17
1,502 were to girls ages 18-19
2127 of the 2421 teens births were to African American girls
Kim Brooks, best-selling and award-winning author, speaker, songwriter and an Abstinence Until Marriage Advocate, joins Motivity as the official spokesperson. Working together, MOTIVITY and Brooks will garner the support of organizations and community residents to join them for the R2W walk-run. Registration is open to everyone. The donation cost is $20.00 per person and includes food, a t-shirt, and other giveaways. Proceeds will help support abstinence programming and training throughout schools and Metro Detroit. Visit www.MotivityEnterprises to register for R2W, learn more about MOTIVITY, and read some of the reasons and stories shared. Group rates and discounts are available.