The Teen Talking Circle Project

wholestory

The Daughters Sisters Project was born in 1993 on Bainbridge Island, when Linda Wolf and K. Wind Hughes came together to write a book to help their daughters and other teen girls navigate the teen years. The first Girl's Circle took place in March,1993. Initially, it was supposed to last 10 weeks -- long enough for the authors to gather information about what topics the girls would want in a book for them. However, once the circles started there was no stopping them. Since that time, a Girl's Circle, Guy's Circles and GenderTalks have continued on Bainbridge, and thousands of teens have participated in circles inspired by our books, and led by adults who have taken our trainings.

The book, Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun: Young Women and Mentors on the Transition to Womanhood, (New Society Publishers, 1997) was released to rave reviews. Primarily a compilation of stories and interviews by, for, and about young women, the book was based on the shared experience of the first 21 girls who participated for two years in the original circle.

After the release of the book, hundreds of people requested to know if Daughters Sisters Circles existed in their communities, and if not how they could start one. To meet this demand Daughters-Sisters Project, a non-profit organization was created and a Facilitator's Training was born. (See out Client List)

In 2001, Daughters-Sisters Project grew into a larger organization with a new name, Teen Talking Circles, to honor a movement that includes teen circles for young men (Brothers Sons Project), and mixed gender circles (GenderTalks), as well as facilitator trainings, workshops and retreats for adults and families. In 2001, TTC released the 2nd book, Global Uprising: Stories from a New Generation of Activists. Both books are required reading in many high schools and universities in the US and abroad. Over 25,000 copies of the books have been sold and have been translated into other languages, such as Chinese and Turkish.

The name change reflects our growing commitment to include young men in our work, and support conscious relationships between the genders, based on the belief that personal growth and social change doesn't happen in a vacuum. It comes when young women and young men of any culture work to understand themselves more deeply in safety of gender specific circles, and come together in mixed gender circles to gain a better understanding of each other, and the way they are connected as human beings in an increasingly globalized world.

Our mission includes: to help youth pactice the skills that increase consciousness, build compassion and inspire postive actions for a world that works for all. This is the heart of our work.

Today, we are grateful to our supporters in all ways for being at a point where we've brought in talented new leadership; young women and men who were part of teen circles in middle and high school have come back to work with us as facilitators, trainers, speakers or volunteers; plus we have a greater stability and capacity for the service ahead as we provide for a new generation.

"I've heard it said that the reason a small nonprofit is still alive after 17 years is because it knows how to shrink and expand, like a desert flower..." JM