Statewide Chair Mary McLellan Heritage Community Services Regional Chairs Mariscia Cooper (Pee Dee) Charlie Lybrand (Lowcountry) Lenna Neill (Upstate) Rev. Randy Riddle (Grand Strand) Dr. Roger Rollins (CSRA) Charlotte Valentine-Green (Ace Basin)   Advisory Council Eugene Bacote Darlington School District Dr. Vera Bailey Hilton Head Preg. Care Center Pamela Berry Colleton Fire and Rescue Dr. Vonda Calcutt Lowcountry Ctr. Diabetes Sen. Chip Campsen Charleston/Berkeley Rev. Chuck Coward Charleston Outreach Robin Crosby Colleton County Ligure Ellington Ret.Capt. Charleston City Police Dr. Randy Goings Chiropractic Physician Faye Hill Lowcountry Pregnancy Center & SC Association Pregnancy Care Centers WC Hoecke Fatherhood Practioner Leroy Lewis Upward Bound at Cof C Norman L. Moore, Jr. Colonel, USAFR(Ret) Cyndi Mosteller Comm. for Higher Education Alexia Newman Carolina Pregnancy Center Fred Payne Marriage Savers of Upstate Jerry & Barbara Seymour R& R Marriage Min. Ronald Shoupe Colleton County Dr. A. V. Strong A Better Way, Inc. (Gang Out) Dr. Robert Thomas Pulmonary Medicine Pastor Phil Thrailkill St. Luke UMC Hartsville Kelly Walker Upstate Fatherhood Coalition	October 3, 2010 SC Healthy Family Formation Coalition E-News!   National Headlines - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that $155 million per year for 5 years in teen pregnancy prevention grants has been awarded.   Not one award of the $155 million per year went to any abstinence-centered programs across the nation, although many applied. The majority of the funding was awarded to health departments and public school districts with an unprecedented $20 million over a five year period to the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, a condom-based program.   Therefore, abstinence-centered organizations across the nation are taking enormous budget cuts, with most facing the reality that their doors will close.      Neither the award decisions nor the budget cuts are due to the economy. They are ideology driven. The current administration is designating ALL pregnancy prevention funding to condom-based programs and Planned Parenthood networks with your tax money, while eliminating proven effective abstinence-centered programs.   For the first time in SC history, our own Department of Education removed the concept of marriage from their sex education standards, contrary to State Law. Also added to the standards: six-grade students get to make up their own definition of abstinence, rather than have it defined by the teacher. . For the next 5 years, so-called ‘Safe-Sex’ and Condom education will be expanded and intensified for 12-18 year olds in all 86 SC school districts.      Effects on Heritage and SC - Heritage did not receive any of the $155 million as hoped. Because other federally designated abstinence funding has already been cancelled early by the current administration (and diverted to the condom-based groups), the Heritage operating budget has been cut by 60%. There is no other federal funding stream to pursue.   With such devastating budget cuts, many of our best and loyal educators were informed last week that they are losing their jobs. Since each Heritage educator teaches 800-1000 students each year, tens of thousands of students and their peers will no longer learn about the benefits of abstinence and marriage, how to avoid risks, and how to reach their goals.         What you can do Would you have ever thought that emphasizing to teens that  abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDs would be eliminated from health education? Because of this ideological battle, Heritage is operating on a bare-bones budget. We want to continue teaching abstinence to youth and parents in our state through faith and community organizations, and wherever we can.   Are you willing to help us financially so that we can make that happen? Any donation made to Heritage will be tax deductible and greatly appreciated.     Click here to donate to Heritage Community Services.   Follow the SC-HFF Coalition on Twitter! Join the Heritage Keepers® Facebook Cause
	The South Carolina Healthy Family Formation Coalition (SC HFF Coalition) is organized and staffed by Heritage Community Services. The SC HFF Coalition promotes child and family well-being by providing opportunities for statewide communication about such issues as: adolescent pregnancy, unwed childbearing, fatherlessness, sexual exploitation of our youth, dating violence and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, gang activity and youth violence.    Coalition members support healthy family formation initiatives that integrate character-based life skills, teen pregnancy prevention with an emphasis on abstinence-centered education, and the importance of fidelity-within-marriage.   Together we can impact our culture so that forming healthy families becomes a norm, rather than the exception, for South Carolina. Please, forward this E-News to interested friends, family and colleagues and ask them to consider joining the Coalition. Join/Subscribe Unsubscribe PRIVACY POLICY: Information you share will never be sold, rented, or given to any third party. Contact Mary McLellan , Statewide Chairman (843)654-7740 ext.122