History

Founder Gayle Bucher began working with teenagers in crisis in 1987. In 1990, Mrs. Bucher counseled an 11-year-old girl who was pregnant. This experience struck a chord in her heart. She saw firsthand the toll that early onset sexual activity had on teens, so with a firm conviction that prevention is vastly preferable to crisis counseling, she began a quest to educate students on the potential consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage.

Mrs. Bucher believed, as have many others since then, that students who are armed with information and encouraged through adult and peer interaction have the potential to make healthy choices when it comes to relationships and sexuality. Without the proper information presented in a relevant way, children like the 11-year-old she counseled never have the chance to determine their futures. Peer/media pressure, lack of education, and lack of a clear message from parents have set up our children to make poor decisions that may impact them the rest of their lives.

Creating Positive Relationships was founded for the purpose of educating students, allowing them to make informed decisions regarding their sexuality and relationships to ensure they have the brightest and most successful future possible.

The middle school program (Building Healthy Futures) was first piloted in Avon, Indiana—a suburb of Indianapolis.  In less than 20 years, the program has grown to reaching over 65,000 students in several states and countries across several continents including Africa, Europe and South America.

A spiritually-based middle school program—Building Healthy Futures PLUS—was written soon after the original program was implemented. A high school program—Choosing Healthy Lives—was added in 1996, a parent program—Parenting 911 Seminar—in 2006, and a 5th-grade program—Starting Healthy Lives—in 2007.  In addition to completing the curricula for our program over several years, Mrs. Bucher also wrote a book for parents titled When It's Time for The Talk!  The book was published in 1997 and is available for purchase through our office in both the secular and spiritual versions.

In 2008, Creating Positive Relationships was honored to receive the Indiana Achievement Award.  Each year, only six Indiana Achievement Awards are given to non-profits in the state of Indiana to celebrate exceptional services in one of three categories--innovation, impact and sustainability.  Along with the award, recipients receive a $10,000 non-restricted, cash grant in order to further the mission of the organization.  We are grateful for the recognition of our efforts and we are excited to continue to grow our program in order to meet the needs of the youth in our local community as well as the youth of Indiana, the United States, and around the world.  Thank you!  You may play our video created by the supporters of the Indiana Achievement Awards from our Home page.

Each year, the Creating Positive Relationships organization continues to grow and expand not only in the programming it offers but also in the number of students reached in Central Indiana, where the program is headquartered, and worldwide.