***July 12, 2011***
PRESS CONTACT: Erica Sackin
(212) 274-7294 / erica.sackin@ppnyc.org
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF NEW YORK CITY LAUNCHES NEW INTERACTIVE COMIC STRIP FOR TEENS, WRITTEN BY TEENS
Uses Storytelling as a Form of Sex Education
New York, NY – Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) is launching a new online comic strip aimed at providing young people with information that can make a difference in their lives. Called “CHOICES”, the strip was written by former teen peer educators, and follows a few teenagers through their daily lives as they face tough choices about sex, health care, and life decisions.
“Teaching teens how to make good, healthy decisions is a constant struggle,” said Haydee Morales, Vice President of Education and Training at PPNYC. “This comic strip, written for teens by teens, should help reach young people in a way that facts and statistics can’t.”
“CHOICES” takes a format long popular with teens, the comic book, and presents it online in a way that offers real-time opportunities for direct, personal engagement with the story and the issues it raises. This online comic strip takes the art of storytelling and makes it available digitally to a wide audience. Storytelling has been shown to be the best way to make issues “real” and personally relevant for a teen audience.
The comic strip, which is posted on PPNYC’s website, will have 6 Episodes, with a new Episode going up each month. Readers can also interact digitally with the strip – commenting on the unfolding story, voting to express opinions about choices the characters should or should not make, and taking quizzes about sexual health.
PPNYC will publicize the online comic strip in new media popular with teens, like Facebook and YouTube, and in venues where they hang out. We’ll have electronic avatars that link to “CHOICES” and eye-catching wallet cards and buttons that will be distributed by PPNYC’s peer educators, theTeen Advocates to 5,000-plus teens throughout New York City. Whether through viral communication, real-time encounters, or word of mouth, we expect “Choices” to generate a buzz.
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Since 1916, Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) has been an advocate for and provider of reproductive health services and education for New Yorkers. Serving nearly 50,000 clients annually, PPNYC’s health care centers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island offer reproductive health services, including gynecological care, contraception, pregnancy testing, abortion, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and HIV testing and counseling. Through a threefold mission of clinical services, education, and advocacy, PPNYC is bringing better health and more fulfilling lives to each new generation of New Yorkers. As a voice for reproductive freedom, PPNYC supports legislation and policies to ensure that all New Yorkers—and, in fact, people around the world—will have access to the full range of reproductive health care services and information.
