Two of our Youth Ambassadors contributed to our client outcome stories for this year’s United Way application. We gave them basic instructions, “How has participation as a YA impacted your life?, Why is BTM necessary in Reading,? What have you gained from your involvement in BTM? etc.”
Genesis, BTM Youth Ambassador, Senior, 17 years old:
Walking through the halls every day I got a glimpse of every student that comes my way. They are all different, walking with groups of friends or alone.
Some are quiet with only one destination in mind.
Some are loud and careless walking slowly in a crowd.
Then, I came across a girl, walking not alone but with a baby in her womb.
In my mind, I was disappointed, because school was always first, because now her plans change for the future, because all her friends grew astray.
With BTM, I learned not to judge. I learned how these girls felt and what they saw from their perspective. Every one of them had their own story to tell and what they all had in common is that being pregnant at a young age was not planned. I became a Youth Ambassador for the purpose to get the word out and inform the young students about safe sex, sexual education, and about Planned Parenthood, etc.
These girls shared how if they would have learned or known where to go to be informed of different kinds of protection then their lives would not have to change. I hope to make teens more aware of teen pregnancy and how their lives can drastically change. Nowadays our wellness/health classes skim through or skip going through the depth of pregnancy prevention and the drastic changes a teen parent has to go through, sacrificing their education. Pregnant teens have to adult at a young age, leaving their childhood behind completely. Youth Ambassadors are a vital part of BTM because teenagers can relate to those affected by the ignorance of the sexual education we receive.
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