MenLiving men’s group is excited to announce its new status as a not for profit organization! The current group began February 2012 in Todd’s living room with a few others longing for authentic conversation and connection amongst men. Since that 1st meeting seven years ago, we’ve brought men together each month in an effort to break down barriers and redefine the current concept of masculinity. We’ve since hosted over 100 events (including an annual 4 day retreat (5 years running!)) covering a wide array of topics including relationships, depression, privilege, gender equality, cultivating creativity, and practicing play (like during our annual summer meeting “play like you did when you were 7”). MenLiving continually strives to strike a balance between embracing discomfort by living at our “edge” and cultivating a joy filled life by offering support and sharing space with one another.
We are super excited to share with you some recent updates to MenLiving Men’s Group that we have all been a part of to some extent since it’s 2nd iteration was formed back in 2012.
Todd, myself and our recent stakeholders have been working diligently to build upon what was first started in Todd’s living room with just a handful of guys. Since that 1st meeting several years ago we’ve had almost 100 meetings, 5 weekend retreats, and about 10 social outings as a collective Tribe.
Below is a list of some of the components we’re developing for our vision of 2019 and beyond:
- To formally organize as a Not for Profit Organization
- To create a website that more accurately describes, portrays and engages men to participate in this movement
- To expand our reach to 1000+ men both in the Chicagoland area
- To create a MenLiving Leader Training Program to instruct and support men beyond Chicago in starting their own MenLiving
- To create a MenLiving virtual platform allowing men from all over the world to connect on a monthly video conference call
- To be a vehicle for philanthropic community activities for MenLiving members and their families to be a part of
- To provide support to other organizations who are dedicated to raising the emotional awareness and literacy of men of all ages
The first two goals on this list have been reached. Beyond the other 5, we’ve got some other ideas percolating that we’ll share with you as we sift through them and they come closer to fruition. All of these goals were established with the hopes of creating a group of emotionally aware, connected and loving men who are redefining the concept of masculinity. We firmly believe this will have a ripple effect throughout our families, communities and the world. These are lofty and audacious goals to be sure! Yet, we’re confident they can be met with the help of some fine men such as yourselves. That’s why we’ve established a few different options for you to participate in this movement:
- Stakeholder Membership – $500 annual investment
Benefits include:
- Access to all monthly meetings
- Annual dinner celebration
- Annual 2 day 1 night fall get away in Galena, IL
- 15% discount on the Annual Unplug, Connect, & Transform Retreat
- Standard Membership – $20/month or $220/year Benefits include:
- Access to (one) or all monthly meetings
- Invite to all MenLiving “extra” outings (Social/Philanthropic/Challenge)
- Drop-in Membership $30/meeting – Benefits include:
- Access to one monthly meeting
- Virtual Membership $10/month or $110 annual- Benefits include:
- Invitation to the monthly virtual conference calls
- Invite to all MenLiving “extra” outings- (Social/Philanthropic/Challenge)
We encourage you to take a gander at our new and improved website to get some more of the details or give us a call with any questions. We would love for you to continue on this journey with us and help make it all positively impactful as possible. If you’re interested at all, we’ll help to find the best fit.
Please let either Frank or myself know if you have any questions about any of this. We’d love to continue the conversation.
Todd & Frank
