For example, Purity Ball, an event hosted by several youth ministries around the nation, fathers are asked to show their daughters how special they are and how much they are loved. At the end of the dinner and dance event, daughters make a pledge to their fathers to remain virgins until marriage.
True Love Waits and A Silver Ring Thing are other organizations that emboldened teens to respect themselves despite a culture that tells them to give in to peer pressure.
Idol singer Sparks is one of many teens who wears a ring reading "True Love Waits," given to her by her parents when she was 13.
"My parents gave me a purity ring and talked to me about waiting until I'm married to have sex," she said in earlier reports. "It wasn't forced; it just made perfect sense. It's going to be awesome to say to my husband that I waited my whole life for him."
