The ManKind Project Arizona started in Tucson in 1992 with a handful of initiated men. By 1993 New Warrior Tucson was recognized as the eighth Full Center of the New Warrior Network. Through the dedicated work of many powerful men in Arizona and with the incredible support of other centers in the Network (most notably San Diego), the first NWTA in Arizona was held in the fall of 1993. We have never looked back.
With the name change from New Warrior Network to The ManKind Project, we became The ManKind Project Arizona to encompass the growing communities of Phoenix, Flagstaff, Sedona, and Prescott with men in Kingman, Sierra Vista, and Casa Grande (to name a few). Despite the huge geographic challenges, we manage to fill 2-4 weekends per year and attract men to staff and initiate from all over the world.
The men of Arizona have been visionaries with ideas that have been embraced by men of the project. The Gateway NWTA for Gay-Bi Men began in Tucson as well as the first ‘open circles’ that include uninitiated men. It is one way that we open ourselves to men in our communities. Many men that attend these open circle I-groups eventually attend the NWTA. There is another open circle that was created in 1996 called the ‘Triangle Tribe’ for gay-bi men that operates independently from MKP-AZ.
The GIFT program was created and operated for nearly three years to create an opportunity for men to attend the NWTA that otherwise would not have been able to afford it. During that time we initiated around 350 men.
We currently have a group in Northern Arizona that participates in the Boys2Men program. There are men from Southern Arizona that helped form the Desert Men’s Council along with Tucson businessmen to create a similar program for mentoring young men and boys. It may get quiet and hot in Arizona but we never sit still.
We are proud that one man in the Phoenix area was so inspired through his sense of mission that he and his wife went on to create a foundation to build an elementary school in Cambodia. The school is thriving and they have inspired many others to participate in the foundation. This work changes the world, one man (and woman) at a time.Men may come and go, but the passion stays. This work is powerful and inspiring in unexpected ways. We look forward to the next inspired man, the next new idea. Arizona will be around for a long time.
