If you know me, you know that I like to do good for our community. This blog site started out as an opportunity for health teachers to amplify their voices among a global audience of like-minded educators, and it has done just that. We have had almost 100 blog posts contributed from teachers across America but also from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The site continues to grow and with that so does its reach.

Previously I have used the reach of this site to make connections with, and mentor teachers, providing professional development while opening up professional opportunities for my own personal growth. I have organized a number of gift exchanges on twitter and most notably coordinated the sendateacher initiative that sold merchandise to raise funds to send teachers to the national convention each year. While in-person conferences have taken a hiatus, so too has sendateacher and that is why it is time to launch my next initiative.

The slowchathealth blog site has chosen a charitable organization for which to raise money for the 20/21 school year. I figured it had a nice ring to announce a target of $2021 for the 20/21 school year and I kicked things off with a donation of $21. If I can get 96 others to donate, we will crush our target easily. #2021for2021

This year we will seek to raise money for Answer who you will find on twitter as @sexedhonestly.

For nearly 40 years, Answer has worked to create a nation where sexuality is recognized as a normal, healthy part of development and every young person receives high-quality sex education. They believe that access to medically accurate, developmentally appropriate information about sexual health is a human right. They aim for young people to have the information they need to make informed decisions, which reduces their risk of an unwanted pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Additionally, when teachers have had the professional development to accurately deliver that information, it makes school-based sex education more effective.

“I donated to Answer because young people need sexuality education, but they routinely tell us they get too little, too late. Young people deserve better.”

Answer has a long track record as an early adopter of new technologies to meet young people where they are online and to provide accessible and convenient training for educators. Answer’s teen focused website, sexetc.org, is viewed over one million times each year. They are also a partner on the AMAZE project – an animated video series on sexual health designed for very young adolescents. The AMAZE YouTube channel has been viewed over 40 million times over the last four years. For professionals, Answer has nine fully-online workshops to provide teachers with professional development and now has a fully-online certificate program in Adolescent Sex Education Basics which is being offered through Rutgers University.

“I donated to Answer because young people are drowning in sex-saturated popular culture, but the adults in their lives aren’t speaking with them about sexuality.”

Answer doesn’t just work with young people, they also work with educators. Answer is the co-developer of Foundations: Core Skills Training for Sex Education. Through this program Answer works with cadres of Trainers in 19 states across the country to provide teachers with a training workshop that focuses on the skills they need to implement high-quality sex education in the classroom. Since their launch in 2017 they have trained 3,600 teachers across the country who have gone on to deliver sex education to 800,000 students.

“I donated to Answer because young people can access porn from most computers, but reliable sexual health websites are blocked on school and library computers.”

Two years ago Answer launched an initiative to increase their understanding of how racial bias intersects with sexual and reproductive health. They’ve spent time together learning and unlearning to build a foundation in which they would center racial and reproductive justice in their work. They examined the impact racist ideas have on the provision of health care for people of color as well as the exploitation of subjects of color in unethical research, such as the Tukskegee experiment and the Puerto Rico pill trials.

Please support the work of Answer and consider making a $21 donation at this link.

Your donation will help Answer create a world where sexuality is understood, valued and respected. Your contribution supports their teen-written Sex, Etc. magazine and website and high-quality trainings for school-and-community-based educators.

If you DO make a donation, please feel free to leave a comment. Please also share this blog post with other who value quality sex education like you do.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Also, point your camera at this QR code to watch some magic happen!