Cameron Mills tours for KISH
From Kentucky Citizen Digest, Nov, 1998

Though Cameron Mill’s college career was characterized by momentum-changing three-point shots, it may be that his “postgraduate work” will be distinguished by culture-changing points made in the hearts of young people.  Cameron has just finished his portion of the Kentucky Initiative for Sexual Health (KISH) project in western Kentucky and his impact has been more than significant.

His “tour” of western counties in the state, which was coordinated in a joint effort by local pregnancy care centers and The Family Foundation, brought him to the student bodies of over 22 schools as well as four county-wide youth rallies in Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, Murray and Paducah.  Initial estimates suggest that 6,000 to 8,000 young people were able to hear his message – “save sex for marriage.”

“I want to help them be champions at something more important than basketball,” says Mills.  “I want to help them be champions at life.”

His five-day schedule was excruciatingly busy each day with 5 to 6 speaking engagements during school hours, interviews with radio, television and newspaper journalists, and a large evening gathering with teens on each evening, Monday through Thursday.

“I’m telling them that it takes good short-term and good long-term decisions to be a champion.”  Planning a good, future family life requires the same decision-making process, says Mills.  “I’m simply asking them to make the healthy, long-term decision to remain sexually inactive before marriage, and then sharing with them how to make the good short-term decisions to support that goal.”

The KISH project was planned, coordinated and implemented by a coalition of eight pregnancy care centers and The Family Foundation.  The first phase included six “Generation At Risk” town meetings featuring Dr. David Hager, a nationally recognized expert on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), a well-published author, and a University of Kentucky School of Medicine professor.  This phase targeted parents, teachers, and health care professionals and was designed to elevate the issue in each community.

The second phase, utilizing Mill’s giftedness, was geared toward youth.  There is discussion about a third phase in 1999 which would focus on a “training the trainers” conference to be held in a site central to most of the western counties of Kentucky.

Mills spoke in schools in Warren, Christian, Calloway, McCracken, Graves, and Marshall counties.  Dr. Hager still has one more town meeting to complete his portion of the work, that being in Henderson on Nov. 19.
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander, Executive Director Martin Cothran, Senior Associate Policy Analyst