Our experience with the project:

Many kids caught in desperate situations don’t have the skills to create solutions or rise above their circumstances. Without tools of resilience, they give up hope and are at risk for: dropping out of school, violence, abusing drugs, becoming pregnant, or committing suicide.

Kids find inner and outer resources to recognize their resilience and develop it. Sharing their discoveries helps them know they are not alone. Hope flourishes with these elements in place.

Support for the project has come from the Inasmuch Foundation, Sarkeys Foundation, The E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation, The Anschutz Foundation, The Oklahoma City Thunder and numerous churches, private individuals and groups.

The organizing sponsor is The Silence Foundation, a non-profit based in Oklahoma.

From 2010-2014, many public schools hosted The Resilience Project. Casady School currently offers The Resilience Project lessons to all fourth graders as they graduate from Lower Division. Lessons support this important transition in the life of a young person by bolstering coping skills, listening, and sharing. The project supports the school goal of creating a culture of kindness. Fifth graders also participate in The Resilience Project in the first weeks in Middle Division. Demonstration lessons are a great way to see this program in action.