Each had her reason, but each girl who participated in Communities in Schools' summer abstinence program vowed Wednesday not to engage in premarital sex.

During the end of the summer program in Barton Village, Crystal Butler, 14, told her peers and younger children to choose abstinence so they don't have to worry about pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

For Nina Ivey, 14, abstinence will mean a healthy start to marriage.

During the summer program, Nina and other teen girls learned the benefits of saying no to sex and resisting peer pressure. They acknowledged pressure to have sex, but Nina said her friends know where she stands.

"I let them know right on," she said afterward.

The Communities in Schools program also allowed the girls to give back to the community, including taking homeless people to get haircuts.

"There are still young people who are abstaining from sex and drugs and gangs," said Meshyla Anderson, 16.