WILLO is a local nonprofit organization for women and girls to connect across generations and other divides to give voice to women's stories from all walks of life. We celebrate all women and girls of any culture, ethnicity, nationality or sexual orientation. As a nonprofit we are respectful of others' views and do not participate in or promote any political position or agenda. We stand for inclus
ion and respect, and do not tolerate exclusion or discrimination of any sort. WILLO women and girls hold space in lovingkindness for all who come with peace in their hearts. WILLO team members know that women of all ages and stages are enriched and supported through their relationships with other women. Women become stronger by engaging with other women, by learning from each other's traditions, values and accomplishments. Girls develop self-esteem and self-reliance through personal relationships with successful role models, and conversely, older women re-experience the spontaneity and vibrancy of their youth through meaningful relationships with younger women. Confidence and self-esteem are life-skill requirements linked to leadership capacity and successful economic independence, which are critical for every woman's health and well-being--and which ultimately determine the health and well-being of her entire community: Strong, successful women co-create a resilient and more vibrant community. WILLO team members believe that story-telling is a universal communication tool which can accomplish the goal of strengthening our community and fostering relationships between women/girls from diverse cultures and traditions in Tacoma and in her Sister Cities:
"All the great stories are not only historical but personal as well. Occurring not only as an event in the past... but also able to happen at any moment in each individual's life. They are like prisms through which consciousness may be refracted over and over again--each time with renewed serendipity.... The evolution of our common social endeavor rests upon a framework of shared stories... through pictograms and hieroglyphs, underneath the stars, over dinner tables and backyard fences--these shared stories have shaped history and have the power to transform lives."
--Lawrence Kushner, River of Light
The WILLO Interactive Story Project is invested in:
Celebrating--the voices of local women & girls
Connecting--the uniqueness of "place" and shared community through storytelling
Collaborating--building self-esteem, empowerment and leadership qualities by learning from others'
These values have been identified by the WILLO steering Committee as intrinsic to the goals of the organization. However the metrics of measuring the progress of mentoring Tacoma's young women into tomorrow's leaders and creating a more vibrant and connected community--are more difficult to articulate and quantify. The qualities of self-esteem and empowerment are reflected through the activities and lives of the women/girls as they change over time--best articulated as each woman's personal story evolves. At this point in the start-up phase, WILLO is primarily seeking to act as a change-agent in Tacoma--a catalyst for re-connecting the missing "synapses" in modern life between generation gaps and cultural traditions--connections that have historically strengthened our communities. One of WILLO's measurable long-term goals is to accumulate a library of local women/girls stories that can be exchanged with our Sister Cities who we will be collaborating with to record and collect their own local women's stories. WILLO team members have reached out to Tacoma-based women who have direct relationships with the following sister cities: Allesund (Norway), Biot (France), Cienfuegos (Cuba), Fuzhou (China), Georte (S. Africa), Kiryat (Israel), Kitakyusha (Japan), Gunson (Korea). We plan to have a WILLO liaison with each of Tacoma's sixteen sister cities by the end of 2014 to initiate the international component of the story project. Measurable long-term results of this global collaboration will be the cultural exchange of women's stories between Tacoma and their Sister Cities. The components of WILLO's Story Project and Storytelling Festival are discrete but inter-related elements that support the framework of the organization: Collection of local and Sister City women's stories, the annual Women's Storytelling Festival, quarterly events/gatherings, and monthly planning sessions with WILLO team members. WILLO projects will support these principles:
•Practice a dynamic and innovative approach to sharing local and international women's stories.
•Nurture local cultural & educational programs for women/children's health, well-being and resilience.
•Advocate equality & partnership between men and women.
•Empower women to pursue leadership roles at all ages and stages of their lives.
•Promote sustainable mobile museum design for urban neighborhoods.
•Support future business development opportunities with local & international partners
The WILLO seedling has 'sprouted', and as it takes root and grows --each leaf of the 'tree' is another participant on a branching local and global network of women and girls. The growth strategy is inviting participation through all media utilizing the "6 degrees network" that continues to expand with each additional member. The ultimate long-term, intangible result from WILLO participants: The WILLO Team is committed to creating a better quality of life by engaging the hearts and minds of women locally and globally. This is a difficult undertaking--and each new participant will be supported by and embraced within the Tacoma WILLO community. We know that one person can change a life. But no successful moment happens in isolation. It is all about relationship and community that create our experiences of success. How does your program foster these relationships? One of the primary goals of WILLO: Celebrating the Voices of Women & Girls is to foster and nurture relationships between intergenerational women from diverse backgrounds as a means to strengthen the health and vibrancy of Tacoma's community. The WILLO Steering Committee reflects this diversity and has already connected with girls and women in Tacoma who have volunteered to serve as liaisons for Sister Cities, and Storytelling Project team members. WILLO is a "true" grassroots organization, and the seedling is sprouting quickly! The WILLO page and Website are connecting women with upcoming events. On August 12, 2014, WILLO organized a Village Women+Girls Dinner with 26 guests ranging in age from six to 90. The "hands-on" gathering was videotaped and photographed to serve as the foundation for WILLO's promotional campaign and Storytelling Festival. In an age-old tradition, women gathered around a communal dinner table to make 'WILLO-style dumplings' while sharing their personal role model/hero with the others. The dumplings were added to homemade soup which became the meal. Conversations between these girls and women --most of whom were meeting for the first time-- will be posted online and presented at the WILLO Storytelling festival. The goal of the dinner was to fertilize the 'common ground' needed to begin conversations that will foster new relationships and collaborations. Innovative and dynamic gatherings like this will continue to foster all-levels of mentoring relationships as WILLO draws more diverse groups of intergenerational women together. Using the model of 'six degrees of separation', each woman who participates invites her circle of friends and associates, and they in turn invite others. These quarterly events will take place in public and private venues around Tacoma, including the Broadway Center's Theater on The Square. WILLO Team members are "Dream Makers"--their vision and passion for "creating community" calls them to engage, educate, and embrace other women. WILLO is organized and supported by, open to--and for--all Dream Makers...
