Inspiring Virtues Globally

Virtues are the inner qualities of a human being and everyone is born with all the virtues in potential. In the early childhood years, training and education, primarily from parents and then school teachers, allows for the development of these qualities. But how do we define them and help others understand and practice them?

There are hundreds of virtues that have been identified in The Virtues Project and Five Strategies were developed to promote the understanding and practice of virtues.  Then from their list of virtues, the Founders chose 52 virtues, one for each week of the year, and developed a parenting model and a school character education model utilizing 52 virtues and the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project.  In addition to The Family Virtues Guide and The Virtues Project Educator's Guide, a personal development book, A Pace of Grace, and an end of life book, Graceful Endings have also been published.  All the books help us to better understand virtues and how to practice them during the different stages of life.

The Five Strategies apply from the moment a baby is born to companioning another at the end of their life.  At every season, the practice of love, patience, compassion, excellence, devotion, joy, etc. allows each act and interaction to be meaningful. 

• Speak the Language of Virtues
• Recognize Teachable Moments
• Set Clear Boundaries
• Honor the Spirit
• Offer companioning

You can learn more about the Five Strategies here.

To further understanding and practice, decks of virtues cards were created with a variety of suggested activities. The cards make learning and conversations fun! Each card defines a virtue and gives examples of how to practice that virtue.  Decks of cards have been developed for families, the classroom, personal use, interpersonal relationships, the workplace, faith communities, etc.  You can see a wide selection of cards at the Virtues Shop.  Some of the decks are also available as phone apps.  You can learn more at www.virtuescards.org.

Cards are being translated into many languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Fijian, Chinese, Swahili, Kiribati languages to name a few. The Virtues Project is growing and expanding its reach.  There are many calls for translations of our books, cards and other materials.  

Ignite A Global Revolution of Virtues is currently supporting the work being done to update the website, translate books, cards, and to develop phone applications. Thank you for your generous support of our project.  

Since 1991 The Virtues Project™ has been bringing virtues, hope and guidance to families, schools and communities around the world.

As many of you know, The Virtues Project™  began as a response to a school shooting in the United States.  The Founders were concerned with the growing violence among our youth.  They pledged to do something to make a difference and The Virtues Project™  was born.    This project has been introduced in over 120 countries through the efforts of the founders initially and now continues through the efforts of its global network of facilitators. 

This year, Baltimore, Maryland gained 24 Virtues Project facilitators who are ready to bring the Strategies of The Virtues Project  to their schools and organizations to promote peace, unity, and understanding.  Your support helped fund Leaders Manuals for those new facilitators.  And in Faribault, Minnesota, facilitators continue a community development initiative to bring The Virtues Project™ to their entire community.  Your support helped reduce the cost of their teaching materials.

The Virtues Project™ is growing in Europe, Asia, Oceania and more.  Teaching materials in many languages are needed.  Your support has helped fund translations.  This coming year, The Virtues Project Global Mentorship will be held in the Netherlands.  Your support will help pay for scholarships to attend the mentorship where facilitators will gather for fellowship, sharing and learning from one another.  Friends are welcome to attend the mentorship.

Reaching the whole world with The Virtues Project™ is a great ambition. Small steps in Tanzania, Africa, and Fiji are yielding wonderful results.   Translation of the virtues cards in Swahili is currently happening in Tanzania.  Fiji is waking up their puppets to get them on radio and to travel around and demonstrate how the Strategies of The Virtues Project™ solve the problems of abuse, particularly of women and children. In Kenya, both school and community development projects are expanding and reaching out to neighboring communities.  Facilitators report back that schools are peaceful and loving learning communities, test scores are improving, truancy is low, parents are involved, and more.  Community Development initiatives are bringing groups of adults together to learn how to loving support one another as they gain skills to bring their families together and communities out of poverty.  Read more about our projects here.

In an effort to share the language of virtues with the masses, virtues apps in multiple languages are coming in 2019.  You can learn more at www.virtuescards.org.  And we have introduced a new deck of cards with practical application for home, school, and community.  Character Cards is our newest deck of cards available on the Virtues Shop.  Product sales help support our facilitators and the work of The Virtues Project™ on a global scale.  

Your charitable contributions have made our work possible, and with your continued support, we will do even more in 2019 to support our mission, Bringing The Virtues Project to the World.  We thank you for your kindness and generosity.  Wishing all of you a joyful and prosperous New Year!

Links:

• The Virtues Project Faribault
• Virtue Card Deck Apps
• The Virtues Project Global Mentorship the Netherlands