Many Blessings of the Season

And a very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.

As we reach the end of 2018, there is so much to be celebrate and look forward to. The last months have brought more positive visibility for the ManKind Project than we have experienced in nearly 20 years. And there are signs that 2019 will bring even more.

Thank you for standing up. Thank you for your willingness to be visible and heart-open to the possibilities that lie ahead for us. The world needs men modeling, leading, and listening in these critical times. Thank you for bringing your light to the world, and making it possible for other men to find theirs. ~ Boysen

At Homecoming I was asked to briefly share what the weekend meant for me: I suddenly got the image of an 8 year old child tucked in bed, in the darkness of his bedroom. Scared, because there was a monster under the bed, a menacing clown in the wardrobe and sinister looking shadows cast on his bedroom wall. But this boy knows that he can switch the lights on and it will all be ok, that there will be light. But what an enormous sense of fear to walk in darkness between the bed and the light switch. That walk, that journey in darkness and fear between the bed and the light switch is what the MKP weekend signified for me.
~ Diego Avila, Los Angeles, Nov 2018

MKP in the New York Times

A group effort brings men’s Emotional Growth
to the front page of the Style section.

The pain in the world is motivation enough for us to step outside our collective comfort zone. The world needs more stories of men willing to get vulnerable to see who they really are. May this openness inspire courage in men to break out of isolation and begin their men’s work.

I believe the best thing we can do as New Warriors and as an organization improving the world is transparently share and compassionately explain what, why, and how we do what we do. Now is the time to be out there. And without a doubt, this article will certainly move us in that direction. HUGE thanks to Zvika Krieger, Scott Fried, Rich Kiamco, Eka Darville and so many other men who made this possible. Thank you! ~ Boysen

Quick Takes on 2018

8% Increase in Enrollment
Open Men’s Groups Expanding
Communities Expanding
Global Regions Expanding
Equitable Community Growing

Record Breaking Membership
Increasing Public Recognition
New Entry Point – the Men’s Work
New Partnerships – COR, Next Step, Gender Equity & Reconciliation

the Men’s Work – Online Course
A Revolutionary Step for Engaging Men.

I joined the first week very nervous. By then end of the second week I knew I had found a community that fostered honesty and hope. Today, after the third week, I am taking actions in my life I had given up on decades ago. ~ John Michener

In September, the ManKind Project USA launched a new introductory course for men starting out on their personal growth journey. ‘The Men’s Work’ is a 3 week online facilitated curriculum that introduces men to the basics of sitting in circle, communication, emotional intelligence, checking in, shadow, accountability, and vulnerability.

So far we have offered the course 10 times since September to over 130 men. The results have been outstanding. We are enrolling for January right now. Sessions are held on Thursday evening, Sunday afternoon, and Tuesday midday. There’s space for up to 56 men. It’s an incredible first step for men interested in the ManKind Project, but not ready or able to commit to a face to face group or weekend.

the Men’s Work

Inside Circle Foundation Graduate
on the ‘Big’ TED Stage

Eldra Jackson III made a decision early in his life that if anyone was going to get hurt, he would be the one doing the hurting. This choice, that of a boy deeply wounded from a very young age, would eventually land him in New Folsom prison. And by chance or by fate, Jackson would end up in the ‘hug a thug’ program, what men on the inside called the Inside Circle Foundation’s men’s work inside.

Now, decades later, no longer under the supervision of the state, Jackson tells his story. He was recently on the TED Women stage talking about the lessons he learned as a boy, about ‘toxic masculinity, and about what he has come to know from sitting in circles of men.

The Inside Circle Foundation is a Ron Hering Mission of Service Award winner, and the subject of ‘the Work’ movie.

Watch Eldra’s TED Talk

Project Heaven on Earth

Three Questions to Change the World.

Martin Rutte’s “Project Heaven on Earth” book is easy to read, highly interactive, and profoundly simple. Through a series of questions and a map of ‘Gateways,’ we are invited to make a bigger difference in the world across all levels of society, starting with ourselves. See the interview to learn more.

Read the Story, See the Interview

Proud Fierce Papa Bear

Bill Konigsberg has long been a man with a fierce purpose for his life. He’s an award winning Young Adult (YA) fiction author who writes poignant, powerful, and hopeful stories about LGBTQ youth. “Out of the Pocket,” “Openly Straight,” “Honestly Ben,” “The Porcupine of Truth,” and his latest, “The Music of What Happens,” have all garnered critical acclaim, including a Lambda Literary Award and the Stonewall Prize for fiction.

Recently while attending a national conference on Young Adult fiction – Bill was called to stand up for youth in a very powerful way. And he did it with New Warrior clarity.

UPDATE: After the conference ended, The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English (ALAN) announced the creation of the Bill Konigsberg Award for for Acts and Activism for Equity and Inclusion through Young Adult Literature. Bill is the first winner of the award, which will now be given once a year to a person showing outstanding action for youth equity and inclusion.