Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Thursday, October 6, 2016,
Many thanks to #SocialMomsLetters for letting us be part of this great project. Here is the actual letter.
Dear Lady in Catskill, NY, whom we met at a gas station/convenience store:
My husband and I were on a business trip
from our home in upstate NY to Connecticut. We stopped for gas and my
husband noticed that one of our tires was flat. We were hoping that the
gas station/convenience store would have a can of tire sealer, but no
luck. As we were discussing what to do, you happened to dri...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Friday, September 23, 2016,
Here is the link to my entry to the Social Moms project. http://www.socialmoms.com/imagine/letters-to/random-acts-of-kindness/. I didn't realize that they only chose one story! I am truly honored that my story was picked and I really hope that that kind lady in the Catskills somehow sees this. I would love to know who she is. I really loved being part of this project because not only does it promote the virtue of kindness, but since the time of Aristotle, gratitude has been considered the pri... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Saturday, September 17, 2016,
We had been hoping for help with the website, but haven't gotten what we need yet. So,we will attempt to continue to promote the goals of AEC as best as we can ourselves..
One of our major goals has been to promote good character. As we have noted before, the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs at SUNY Cortland has found that young people are 90% more likely to be abstinent if they have been in a character education program. I was recently asked to submit a letter to someone from whom I had received... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Thursday, August 6, 2015,
Where It Starts
Lack
of self-respect-Poor self-image-Academic
problems-ADD/ADHD-Need for supervision-Poor
role models-Peer pressure-Need
for support-Lack of communication skills-Lack
of social skills-Poor dietary habits
Where It Can Go
Addictions- Abuse-Depression-Disease
(physical, mental, emotional, spiritual)-Dropping out of school -Dependency
on the state
(welfare)-Difficulty in getting and holding a job-Criminal
b...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, March 30, 2015,
Part 2 is my review of "Renewable - One Woman's Search for Simplicity, Faithfulness, and Hope". I think that Eileen Flanagan is a talented writer. However, after going through the most bitter winter we have experienced since moving to Upstate NY fifteen years ago, it is hard to take "global warming" with anything but a load of salt. Also, there is a lot of disagreement with this theory, such as this quote from American Spectator "Antarctic ice is at record levels, the Arctic polar bear populat... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Sunday, March 29, 2015,
I was
asked to review some books for Social Good Moms.
The books are "Renewable" by Eileen Flanagan and "100 Under $100
- One Hundred Tools for Empowering Global Women".
Of the two, "100 Under $100" was by far my favorite. Not only does it
have some great and inspiring information about what women are doing around the
world to help themselves, but it has practical suggestions for helping them.
However, there are major inaccuracies in the book as well as well-intentioned
but poorly advised ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Friday, January 16, 2015,
We are "creatures of habit" and what we think, say, and do on a regular basis, impacts our life whether for good or bad. Abstinence education is about making good educated choices and avoiding the bad.. It is, for example, a terrible thing that birth control pills are regularly doled out to girls and women for a multitude of things, despite the fact that they are classified a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Unfortunately, because there are groups who profit from our ignora... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Saturday, December 20, 2014,
I decided to use the above title as our theme for next year's fair booths. My younger daughter got married this summer and her new husband and my older daughter's husband are so romantic! I have been really surprised and delighted. 'My children are so different and their husbands are so uniquely appropriate to them and yet, the men share a lot of wonderful qualities, starting with respect for the girls. Looking at them, I can see that this is the cornerstone of their relationships and romance... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, July 21, 2014,
AEC has an important message and point of view which is difficult to spread because our culture is 1. antagonistic toward any kind of self-discipline and 2. close-minded about anything that is not "politically correct". Enter Chatabout. Here is a website that actually pays you to give your opinion! What a great opportunity to use all the research that we have been gathering over the past several years to give informed responses to current news articles. For the most part, news is either libera... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Sunday, July 13, 2014,
Our theme for AEC's booth at the Otsego County Fair this year is "A Real Man Commits", with COMMITS spelling out strong character traits to look for in your man - Considerate, Orderly, Mature, Modest, Industrious, Trustworthy, and Self-Controlled. After the wedding of my younger daughter a couple of weeks ago, I can now say that these character traits were ones that I see and admire in the men that are now my son-in-laws (my older daughter having married a couple of years ago). I was just pon... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, June 9, 2014,
In :
Parenting
I put together some suggestions for our "Girl Talk" girls and thought I would share them on my blog. They are pretty basic suggestions for a healthy summer, but we all need reminders sometimes:
Five
Top Tips for A Healthy Summer
1. Get
some sleep – Even if it is summer vacation, your body needs sleep to repair
itself and to grow. Kids need about 10-11 hours of sleep. From age 12 and up at
least 8 ½ hours is necessary, with regular bedtimes and wake up times, to help
keep the body’s clock...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Thursday, March 13, 2014,
There is an expectation that a film that comes from BBC's Masterpiece Theater will be of exceptional quality and "The 39 Steps" is no exception. Based on John Buchan's thriller which is a fictional story about WWII, it is unexpectedly charming, romantic and exciting all at the same time and the performances are superb. I found this video by accident. I was browsing our local library for a film. My husband likes action films and I couldn't find one without an R rating. I found this one and alth... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, March 10, 2014,
Last summer, AEC was invited to do a "lock-in" for a group of American Heritage Girls in Greene, NY. to be held around Valentine's Day in 2014. In January, I shot off an email to check on the situation. The girls range in age from 9-12, so the plan was to do our "What is Beauty" program, which is about self-respect, goal setting, inner beauty and the false image that is portrayed of women in the media. I didn't hear back (not realizing that getting to a computer was not easy for the woman I w... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Tuesday, December 17, 2013,
A couple of years ago, I read that
fewer weddings were being performed in America. So, it is rather ironic that
among our friends and relatives, there has been one wedding (or engagement)
after another. It started about 3 years ago with the wedding of my younger daughter’s
best and longest friend. Since then my cousin’s son was married, my older
daughter was married, the children of six of my friends were married, my
younger daughter just got engaged and 7 more of her friends married in ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Thursday, December 12, 2013,
I have been sitting in on a slowly developing coalition for
character in my county. Our organization, AEC-I Decide had tried last year to
interest the county next to ours in a character building program for the simple
reason that it is one of the poorest counties in New York and character
programs have been proven to change the status quo. Unfortunately, we got
virtually no response from the local schools which were originally supposed to
be our jumping off point. The schools are
ideal as ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, November 25, 2013,
Having fallen into blogging, I am still uncertain as to what I am doing! But Copyblogger to the rescue. They have daily tips on writing and they are having a contest for a course with them. Following is my entry. The point is that it is important to take advantage of the uniqueness that is you. Like snowflakes each of us is different and each of us is important and special.
You Need Credibility to Crush the Competition Have you ever won a contest, a competition or a job? To win, you have to be... Continue reading ...
“Beauty In and Out”Event Made Possible by Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Grant
The basement of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in New Berlin was the setting for a beauty event for teen girls.
West Oneonta, NY
– On November 16, 2013, the Abstinence Education Council hosted a
program for teen girls about being attractive. A dozen young women (and
several moms!) enjoyed finding...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Thursday, August 1, 2013,
In :
Parenting
I am always astonished at the abilities of younger and younger children. I was watching (for the first time!) an "America's Got Talent" show on TV the other day and a lovely 11 year old girl with an incredible voice was on. Unfortunately, although the song she chose was suitable for her voice and range, it was inappropriate for her age. She played the piano and sang an old rock song from the 60s. Having struggled through piano lessons myself for years, I could appreciate the hard work and ef... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Friday, July 19, 2013,
We are happy to report that my piece "An Attitude of Gratitude" was accepted for Wayman Publishing's upcoming Parenthood Anthology.
On a down note, however; the hooking up culture is taking it's toll - Depression Among College Students Linked to Hook-up Culture, Study Says http://shar.es/krCzN via @sharethis. Please note that there was a report that "students in coed dorms are more than twice as likely to have three or more sexual partners". It is a bizarre and horrible thing that the college... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, July 1, 2013,
I have been thinking
about making our blog more "bloggy". So I am moving our newsletter
information under the tab newsletter and re-working this section into more
parenting information. This is happening to correspond to an opportunity to
have our blog become part of an even bigger project, a contest (I do like
contests!) from the authors of "The Blogger's Survival Guide" and
Wayman Publishing. Contestant winners will have their stories featured in
Wayman Publishing's upcoming parenting ant...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Friday, May 17, 2013,
This year’s grant from Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match will be used for Mother and Daughter Pure Fashion shows and Teas to be held at the Remember When Café in New Berlin, NY. West Oneonta, NY – On July 7, 2013, the charming Remember When Café will be the site of another Mother/Daughter Pure Fashion Show and Tea for 8-12 year old girls. The Abstinence Education Council works to reduce high risk behaviors among young people in Central NY. We are deeply grateful for the help and support... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Sunday, March 10, 2013,
We have applied for the Stewart's Shop Holiday Match grant again, as well as the WGY/Curtis Lumber Christmas Wish grant which we won last year. For some reason we did not receive the generous $400 until November, although it was sent out sometime in early July. We truly appreciate the support we get from the local community and from the churches, particularly Main St. Baptist Church and Burlington Flats Baptist Church. We are sorry that one of our biggest supporters, St. Mary's Respect LIfe C... Continue reading ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Sunday, December 30, 2012,
Thanks to all for your help and support this year!
Our Circle of Friends girls' club in Burlington Flats continues to meet, usually monthly. We have several new girls this year.
We were again invited to Binghamton University to have a table at their Community Fair. Because all high risk behaviors can cause cancer, we used that as our theme and a woman passing by made the remark "good approach". We have great material from Humana for teens through adults. Please let me know if you would like us...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, December 3, 2012,
I caught Justin Bieber's mom (Pattie Mallett) on Fox News yesterday, talking about her new book, "Nowhere, But Up.". She was speaking about her very dysfunctional wild life, her drug and sexual abuse, her attempted suicide, and her life as an unwed mother. She was not a believer, but while she was in the hospital recovering from her attempt at suicide, she read Jeremiah 29:11 (given to her by a Christian counselor) and it turned her life around. I can't wait to read her story!
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Thursday, November 15, 2012,
AEC was unexpectedly suddenly invited to be interviewed on the internet's Spotliteradio.com program. I was able to give out information about our organization and our initiatives like the M.O.M., Model, Organizer, Mentor workbook that we are working on and the "Trash Cancer" program which we have started to work with. I was also able to give out information like the fact that one out of four adults by the age of 25, will get an STD and one out of 10 couples are infertile and that STDs can cau... Continue reading ...
Many thanks to Angela Sellari of www.aboutamom.com
for nominating us! Angela and I are both members of the online group Social moms
which is made up of thousands of mom bloggers. I was also invited to
nominate someone and I nominated Haley Kilpatrick of "Girl Talk". I ...
Posted by AEC-I Decide on Thursday, September 20, 2012,
I am very excited to have been
offered the opportunity to nominate someone for the"Yahoo Women Who
Shine" Award and I have selected Haley Kilpatrick, social entrepreneur,
founder of the "Girl Talk" program and author of "The Drama
Years" (which I highly recommend for tweens and their parents). I am very
interested in implementing this program locally.
I first "found" Haley early this year in a magazine article. Because
AEC works to reduce high risk behaviors, I am always on the looko...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Friday, August 31, 2012,
AEC- I Decide – Quick Updates
August 30, 2012
I
decided that the best way to send out info on what we are doing is in
short notes. Summer is a really busy season for us and this year, with
my very romantic older daughter’s wedding to a very romantic (and
wonderful) young man, has been particularly busy.
We had tables and booths at many venues, several weeks at Bainbridge park; Spirit
Fest and the Blueberry Festival in Coventry; Spiedie Fest in Binghamton
and the Otsego County Fair ...
Posted by Abstinence Education Council on Monday, May 21, 2012,
In :
news coverage
The
Abstinence Education Council (AEC) is having a busy spring. They were
again among the semi-finalists for the “National Moms In Business” Crowd
Funding Grant (last year they came in second). Part of the competition
was to work with social media from which they obtained several followers
on Twitter, offers of help and ideas including one for a summer fair
booth. They wish to thank
everyone who helped raise $2000. The winner this year raised $3500 in
less than 4 weeks. AEC condu...
Posted by Arline Saiki on Friday, July 9, 2010,
In :
Movie reviews
What would you do if you were sitting at your computer and you suddenly got an e-mail inviting you to a preview of a new feature film for and about teens called “To Save A Life”? Would you:
A – delete the e-mail B – read the e-mail, realize that the preview is in North Syracuse, nearly two hours from your house and then delete the e-mail. Or C – call up a couple of your co-workers and invite them to go with you.
Congratulations to Tara! We are sorry we didn't win
but Tara did an amazing job. She just blew everyone away with her energy, her
generosity and her social media skills. She really deserved this prize.
AEC did raise over $2000 and I learned so much from trying to pick up social
media. I have dozens of followers on Twitter now and offers for help from a few
of them.
Next on our schedule is a table at the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church's health
fair in Binghamton. We were part of it last year and our band
"Treasure" will be playing again. I will (hopefully) remember my
camera and take pics.
God bless,
Arline
April
27, 2012,
Lots
of challenges when it comes to abstinence education. I've been taking many
webinars and getting lots of coaching from them and from Gina Robison at Moms
in Business and today I got this e-mail when I inquired about a mentor with one
group. I asked them if I could put it on my blog without giving their name
because it is so illustrative of what we face.
Dear Arline,
Thank you for your email. I’m glad you found the webinar
useful.
As to getting a mentor, I can assure you we are trying hard to
find one for you. However, it is proving quite a challenge as the aims of
the organization you represent are not acceptable to some people – in fact, I
have already had 3 potential mentors turn you down as a mentee. I will keep
trying though and hope to find one for you eventually.
I hope this clarifies matters.
Dear...........
Thank
you so much for your help and your frank reply. I certainly appreciate the fact
that you are willing to help us as this is exactly the problem we face. Many
people will not tolerate our organization despite the fact that we help girls
avoid the consequences of promiscuity and unwed motherhood, which are: sexually
transmitted diseases (and diseases like cancer which result), heartbreak,
depression, infertility, and lifelong poverty, not to mention the impact of
these problems on subsequent generations. We realize that it is ignorance of
the reality of the results of poor life choices and the fact that most people
live their lives and make their decisions based on agendas which are primarily
aimed at being politically correct and/or for profit. The peculiar thing is
that there are few people, if any, in this atmosphere who would condemn
anti-smoking campaigns or programs which teach good citizenship. Yet,
abstinence is all about self-respect, self-control, and goal-setting, vital
skills for every walk of life and in any and all situations.
I
know that this is not everyone's viewpoint however, as illustrated by our
acceptance as semi-finalists for the second year in a row with the National
Moms In Business Crowdfunding Grant competition and by your own assistance and
by funding from such groups as the Stewart Shops Foundation.
