Students across the United States and around the world will be celebrating St. Valentine's Day by educating their peers on the value of sexual purity.

Leading up to Feb. 14th, which doubles as the Fourth Annual Day of Purity, young people are promoting the choice of purity by distributing flyers, wearing Day of Purity T-shirts and LivePure wristbands, and organizing events in their schools, communities and churches.

The Day of Purity, an international project of Liberty Counsel, is designed to raise awareness about the dangers of promiscuous behavior, to promote abstinence and to inform young people who have already engaged in sexual activity, that it is possible to make a fresh start and to practice abstinence.

More than three million U.S. teens are infected each year with sexually transmitted diseases, and the country has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries. In addition, 20 percent of the annual 1.3 million abortions in the U.S. are performed on teens, says Rena Lindevaldsen, international coordinator for the Day of Purity.

“Students are sending a message to their friends, parents, churches, communities, legislators, and the media that it's time for a positive change in the culture," she said.

Day of Purity participants obtain a planning manual, wristbands, T-shirts, informative flyers and other useful information from the official Day of Purity web site, http://www.dayofpurity.org.

Day of Purity also has a "myspace page" at http://www.myspace.com/dayofpurity and a page on facebook.com to reach students who want more information.