Do You Give a Buck About Sex Education?

give a buckWe probably don't have to tell you that one of the tricky bits about keeping Scarleteen afloat is that while our traffic is so high, most of it comes from users who either don't have their own income, or who don't have checking accounts or credit cards to make donations with. We usually average around just one donation per every 500,000 users. That's also one reason why a site like Scarleteen is so important. Due to both age and financial limitations (as well as concerns about safety -- particularly for GLBT youth, or those addressing issues like rape or abuse from partners -- and privacy), often young people are also without the resources to purchase good books or access quality counseling and support services and our free, easily accessible information and support has been a godsend for many of you.

"I am a 16 year old female who has never had any type of sexual education, and multiple times I have had questions to which I could find no answers. This site is amazing because it lets you post your questions anonymously, eliminating any embarrassment. Through Scarleteen I have received quick replies to every question I have asked and this accurate, candid information has helped me to make more informed decisions to protect both my emotional and sexual health. Thanks Scarleteen, for all that you do for teens like me. You guys rock!" - sportchick

"When I first came to Scarleteen, I was confused, uninformed, and terrified after contracting an STI. I was only 18 years old and had only one sexual partner. I was dizzy with questions, and I couldn't talk to anyone about what I was going through. The intelligent volunteers and experts at Scarleteen not only shed light on the STI and the treatment available, but lent a caring, informative, and thoughtful hand so that I might recover from the resulting emotional trauma. Scarleteen is a venue that promotes healthy self-image, a healthy lifestyle, and a healthy sex life. I can think of no other site that could be a better safe haven for teens all over the world. Thank you, Scarleteen Staff, for changing my life, and the lives of many other teens, for the better."- Hallie

Even with your limitations, a lot of our users often want to know if there is some way they can help keep Scarleteen running for themselves and other teens like them. So, we've got a new way that some of our users can easily help support Scarleteen!

It's as easy as one envelope, one stamp and one dollar. Did you know that if all of our users for just two days each gave only one dollar that we could not only fund the site for the whole year, we could have funding for EVERYTHING we'd like to do in 2009, from paying writers to get you more content, to extra training for volunteers to help you better, to print materials of our content for your clinics or schools? It's true!

It's not so wise to send a big chunk of cash through the mail, but a buck or two is a pretty safe bet, and no major loss if something happens. One dollar from you can assure that other teens and young adults are helped the same way you've been. We're glad to provide Scarleteen for free to you, but we also think a dollar for all we do, and for all the ways we can help and have helped, is a small thing you can do in return for some pretty big results.

If you'd like to help out, but don't have much income of your own, a checking account or credit card, you can slip just one or two dollars into an envelope, plop a stamp on it and send it to us at: 1752 NW Market St. #627, Seattle, WA, 98107.

buck promoAND For every 30 envelopes we get with a dollar or two inside, we'll randomly pull one and send that donor a signed copy of my big young adult sexuality book, S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College, which is a sweet deal for a buck and a stamp. So, don't forget to put your return address on the envelope!

You can play a part in sustaining Scarleteen and all of the young adults who need and are helped with our unique brand of inclusive, progressive, holistic and accurate sexuality education. As we finish one decade of delivering the goods we so strongly feel have nurtured and continue to nurture the development of a healthy, happy sexuality for young people, I'm asking for your help as we enter another. It's our job to help you, but we want to keep on doing it, so you taking a turn to help us now and then is a great way for you to give back.

"I'm an eighteen year old female, but I wish I'd found your site a two years ago when I started trying to figure my sexual self out. This site is the most down to earth, friendly, accessible, nonjudgmental resource I have come across in a very long time. I think it's of critical importance that young men and women learn about their sexual selves from a source they feel they can trust. I was blessed with extraordinarily understanding parents but this is just one of those topics! My hat is off to everyone who had and continues to have a hand in the maintanance of this site!"- Liz

"This website is probably the best resource of its kind. I only recently came across the site and since I'm at the end of my teen years, I just wish I had found it when I was younger. This straight-up information has guided me in many different situations and has been there for me in times when I had questions. This type of sexual health information has been absent from school sex education and even from other internet sources where it should be readily available. I am so lucky, as are all readers of Scarleteen, that this website exists and can provide facts to those who need them." - Robin

Throughout the whole of our history, the majority of our traffic has come from users like you just spreading the word! Too many people, though, report finding Scarleteen later than they'd have liked to, so this is also a great time to just get the word out, and that's a fantastic way for you to also lend a hand.

If you want to promote this fundraiser to your friends and family, feel free to grab one of the graphics and any of the test from this page and pass it on! If you want to share some facts about Scarleteen with them, you can show them:

Want to know more about fundraising for us? You can check out another of our current fundraising drives: from February 14th through March 15th, one of our regular donors has agreed match the donations we receive up to $350 per donor, and/or up to $3,000 total. Or, you can see our general donation page here.

Big, big thanks from all of us at Scarleteen for any help you can give!