Founded 2000 Focus Men's Movement Members >1000 | Type 501(c)(4) Area served United States, Canada Slogan Success for men | |
MDI (formerly known as Men's Divisions International) is a mutual benefit not-for-profit organization that has been active in the United States and Canada since 2000. The organization's focuses are on the strengths and sorrows its men face, friends, families, work places, and communities.
Contents
History
In the late 1980s small groups of dedicated men, volunteers part of the Sterling Institute, recognized and became dissatisfied with the nature of that organization and formed an "arm's length" group called The Men's Divisions, a separate and masculine entity in its own right. Entity is the operative word because the spirit fostered within The Men's Divisions lives and is life affirming, connecting men from all walks of life to the larger body called Men which is sustained by and generates mature masculinity. It must be stated that although "separate", the Men's Divisions continued to support Justin Sterling and the Sterling Institute of Relationship, all of which were for-profit organizations supporting Justin Sterling. They continued this relationship throughout the rest of the 1980s and most of the 1990s. In the late 1990s a majority of the membership of the Men's Divisions were once again feeling unfulfilled with the lack of leadership and vision for the future coming from Justin Sterling and his Institute. It became apparent that what was needed was an organization whose goal was not to profit one man, but create a legacy that would insure there was an organization for future generations of men. A place that would encourage men to become mature masculine leaders who are successful in their families, careers and communities. Between 1998 and 2000, the volunteer leadership, with the help of a number of other key volunteers, completely broke away from Sterling and his Institute, forming the independent volunteer organization of Men's Divisions International. International was added to the name to recognize the fact that they have always existed in both Canada and the United States. They soon attained not-for-profit status and created their own Weekend for Men, called the Legacy Discovery Event. They still are and own the rights to Men's Divisions International, but in 2010, officially adopted the name of just "MDI".
Structure and Organization
The basic unit in MDI is a Men's Team, a relatively small group of men who meet on a regular, usually weekly, basis. Men who have each other's backs, as it were. Since only men can really know what it is like to be a man, these teams are not just a place to meet to discuss men's issues, but a space to gather; where men enter a rarefied circle that harkens back to a time when men's very survival depended on other men they could trust. Values such as honor, action, trust, loyalty, sacrifice, strength, integrity and success are cultivated in a real experiential way so that members are grounded in their masculinity and not overcome by it or lose sight of it. In these meetings their batteries are re-charged in a way that cannot be done anywhere else, so that when its members return to their families and significant others, they come back with a renewed sense of their purpose and masculinity, which, in their belief, cannot be achieved by group therapy or by intellectual means. Team is the operative word, where members pursue their own personal growth while supporting the team to succeed at making a difference in their community. Teams are typically satellites of a larger "Men's Division", which itself is a collection of teams, which takes on the same purpose as their teams, namely to foster success of its members while taking part in community service, charitable causes and civic activities. Teams are led by captains or team leaders whose basic function is to direct the momentum that a team of men naturally generates, to keep it on point and manage the meetings themselves. Any adult male can become a member of MDI regardless of religious belief, life experience or ethnic background. The Teams are grouped in Divisions, and the Divisions are grouped in Regions. There are currently seven regions in MDI: Eastern Canada, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest, the Western Region and Western Canada.
Every leader within the organization is a volunteer, and each leader takes on a 2-year commitment to the fulfil the leadership position he holds. Members typically start their leadership training as a team leader, and progress into larger areas of responsibility, such as division leader, regional leader, international leader, etc. The emphasis of the training is to give each volunteer the experience and leadership training required to take on similar responsibilities within his community, employment, or family.
Activities
In addition to weekly meetings, the teams and divisions within MDI often engage in community service activities in their communities. For example, in 2004, men from the Southwestern region of MDI worked to beautify a children's emergency shelter in Long Beach, California.
MDI has created a weekend for men called the Legacy Discovery that provides men the opportunity to undertake a personal journey that celebrates the strength, wisdom, insight and purpose each man carries throughout their life and throughout this world. It is an exploration of the collective wisdom of men that includes each man's own unique and valuable wisdom. It is a voyage that is designed to lead men to a deep understanding of the man they are, and is intended to awaken the power and determination to be the man their legacy demands.
The Legacy Discovery seeks to accomplish this by assisting men to look deeply within themselves to see where they stand with leadership, success, relationships with women, marriage, fathering, and personal goals. The end result is to ultimately lead men to realize their own purpose and mission in life. These weekends are offered throughout the year throughout North America. More information can be found at http://www.legacydiscovery.com.
On the first Sunday of every December, the Veterans Department of Voluntary Services, VA VGLA, MDI, along with over 500 volunteers and local businesses, come together as one. This union of men and women helps maintain memorable meals, gifts, and entertainment, as well as much needed appreciation.
The men of MDl are regular volunteers for Big Sunday which is the largest annual citywide community service event in America. These men work alongside volunteers of every age to help hundreds of non-profits, schools and other agencies.
Many of its regions are very active in the support of Victims of Abuse and Women's Shelters. MDI does fundraising, collects donations and performs upkeep and improvements to many sites in their support of this cause. We have earned the trust of the staff working at these sites and they have told us many times how wonderful it is to have an example of real men positively impacting the lives of their residents.
Until 2012, during the second week of October MDI held its annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention included dozens of seminars on a variety of issues from leadership, family, money, community building and relationship. The convention was open to any man. The 2011 Annual MDI Convention was held at the Rio All Suites Hotel on October 21–24. The 2012 Convention was held at the Rio October 11–15. There are no plans to hold the Convention in 2013.