CHESTERFIELD – The Chesterfield County Youth Development Coalition is working in conjunction with a South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy contest called “Teen Expressions 2010” to help spread the word about teen pregnancy prevention.

Margaret Plettinger-Mitchell, executive director of the Chesterfield County Coordinating Council, said that the contest is currently in its fifth year and is geared to alert teenagers, both boys and girls, about preventing teen pregnancy.

“This is a very unique campaign. The contest is for all teenagers, ages 14 -19 years. The goal is to get the youth involved with the issue of teen pregnancy. Each teen can submit a poem, short story, art, photo or a video to win,” said Plettinger-Mitchell.

The prizes that will be awarded include an iPod Shuffle, Flip Video Camcorder and a digital camera. The grand prize winner will also receive an additional monetary prize from First Citizens Bank, which is the sponsoring the event. The award presentation will take place at the Summer Institute in Charleston, S.C. It is usually held in June of each year.

According to www.teenpregnancysc.org, the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was founded in 1994 to respond to concerns in South Carolina and across the country about high rates of teen pregnancy. Since that time, the South Carolina Campaign has been the only organization in South Carolina that works in all of the state’s 46 counties exclusively focused on the reduction of teen pregnancy. After 15 years of dedication, progress has been made. From 1994 through 2004, teen pregnancy rates in South Carolina decreased by 25 percent. Even with such progress, more than one in every three teen females will get pregnant, at least once, before her 20th birthday. More importantly, teen pregnancy rates over the last three years have begun to increase. Since 2004, teen pregnancy rates have increased by 8 percent and have increased in 34 of the state’s 46 counties — including Chesterfield County.

The most recent statistics are based on the 2007 data collected by DHEC and includes pregnancy rates among 10 -19 year-olds. According to the 2007 Chesterfield County Epidemiological Profile, there were 135 teen pregnancies in Chesterfield County.

“Teen Expressions is a great opportunity for teens and all of the winning participants’ work will also be published in the Teen Expressions 2010, a newspaper book,” added Plettinger-Mitchell.

For more information call Margaret Plettinger-Mitchell at 843-623-5274 or visit www.teenpregnancysc.org.