DIGNITY
Our true state of being that stands for relationship with all forms of life as loving and honorable.

Children's Dignity Project began in 1992 as a pilot project of the Four Winds Institute of Santa Fe, founded by Debra Reynolds. Oprah Winfrey and Jeff Jacobs, president of Harpo Studios, funded the initial research team comprised of Four Winds Institute and St. Joseph's Carondolet Child Center in Chicago, to study methods of working with child advocates and abused children. In addition, a film treatment was written by Debra Reynolds, and funded by ABC/Capital Cities for a two-hour television special, About Us: The Dignity of Children, airing in spring 1997. CDP founder Debra Reynolds has also completed the Project's first book, The Dignity of Children.

In March, 1995, the Project became incorporated as a 501(c)(3) educational foundation and began the development of its long-range national public awareness campaign.

With the establishment of the Dignity Project in 1997, the Children’s Dignity Project has evolved into a broader multi-faceted organization with both communication and education at it’s core.

The concept for The Center for the Study of Human Dignity has evolved out of my belief that dignity is the missing foundation of our society. Our response as a nation to the fragmentation of our society has been autonomy, to become self-determining and independent.

I believe that the pendulum needs to swing toward the renewal of connections, for life arises out of an essential unity of body, mind, spirit, community and the earth. I conceptualized and co-produced a special event film for ABC television, About Us: The Dignity of Children. While researching the histories of cultures, I discovered that nonviolent societies had something in common—respect for the land, children and the sacred. They nurtured a sense of belonging to the human family and to the earth. They helped children achieve a sense of accomplishment. They taught them that they had a voice in what takes place in the world and in their own lives. And they fostered the spirit of generosity, that children would become contributing members of the community.

For twenty years I conducted educational programs with an emphasis on creativity and intuition, most recently at Four Winds Retreat Center, on 400 acres in the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I guided the design and restoration of this historical adobe compound which eventually accommodated twenty participants. Programs included an Outward Bound course, art and movement, improvisation theatre, meditation, and wilderness teachings and adventures.

In 1993, Oprah Winfrey encouraged me to put my programs to the test with the oldest and largest residential school for abused boys, located in Chicago. She funded one year for me to observe within the school and to create different programs for teachers, social workers and administration that would take place at the Santa Fe retreat center. The dignity curriculum is a natural adjunct to the knowledge and skills of these advocates. Nature was the catalyst for opening, softening and insight, in almost every case. Participants expressed a desire to give back to the earth. Some who had never been in nature, felt passion and dreamed about working for the earth. I have the gift of intuition that allows me to create individual opportunity within the group program, so I know that being seen and continually guided into oneself, helps to break the cyclical nature of abuse, dependence and blame. The retreat experience confirmed for me the effect that recognizing our own dignity and the inherent dignity of others has on creativity, compassion and cooperation.

Debra Reynolds