The Benji Project

School-based programming: Our instructors start with the Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens curriculum and modify the timing and number of sessions to accommodate the needs of local school districts and different age groups. Schools where we have offered programs include Port Townsend High School, Chimacum High School, OCEAN K-12 Alternative Learning Environment, Brinnon Middle School, and Blue Heron Middle School. In FY 2023-24, we reached 283 young people with our in-school programming.

Community programs: The Mindful Self-Compassion for Teens curriculum is offered after school hours for 6th-12th graders. In partnership with community organizations, we extend opportunities for small group support around social emotional well-being. We also periodically offer workshops for parents, caregivers, and educators that help adults understand the brain science of adolescent development, how to support teenagers in positive ways, and how to care for themselves amid parenting and teaching challenges. To celebrate Mental Health Awareness month, we collaborated with two local organizations to design and implement the MAAY project: Mental health Arts Action for Youth, a series of hands-on art-making workshops where students designed and created a large puppet representing youth mental health. The puppet then walked in the large Rhody Parade in Port Townsend. Through our community programs, we reached more than 60 youth directly, and dozens more through awareness and interaction with the MAAY project.

Summer camp: Annual week-long summer camps are held for middle and high school age students to introduce mindfulness and self-compassion tools in a nature-based, engaging setting. Through games, arts activities, and outdoor exploration, youth learn lifelong skills for emotional resilience.