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Supporting LGBTQ+ youth is so important with the rates of suicidal ideation increasing. Guide the youth in your life through the following conversation so they have a chance to identify their role models and values. Let’s help empower youth on their journey of self-discovery.

We’ve released our first digital activity guide, Mitigating Gender and Racial Bias: Intersectionality and Allyship. You can now purchase this curriculum in digital form and access it with ease from your phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. Even better, you can share it with up to 5 colleagues!

One Circle Foundation (OCF) has the honor of partnering with incredible women leaders who are ushering in lasting, positive change and making history in their communities from Des Moines, IA to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  OCF has its own history of strong, intelligent, charismatic, and deeply caring women in leadership. These women have been developing and sharing circle programs to ensure that youth and teens get the opportunity to have healthy relationships with themselves and others in safe circle spaces with adults who are properly trained and equipped to be effective facilitators.  We celebrate these women who show up daily to walk the talk, do the work, and make history.

Report after report and a seemingly endless stream of articles have recently been released showing that youth and teen mental health is in crisis. Persistent sadness, hopelessness, and attempts of suicide are up across the board, and the numbers increase for youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and ...

A new video was released today featuring One Circle Foundation trainers, staff, and teen circle participants sharing all about One Circle Foundation and showcasing what an actual circle looks like in Aiken, SC. This video gives an introduction to the One Circle Foundation experience, mission, and impact. Share it with colleagues, friends, and family so they can learn about this powerful work that you are a part of and help us to expand our circle around the world. 

2022 has been a year of celebration as One Circle Foundations' 25th year anniversary. We want to share all that our team and you as circle and council facilitators and supporters have accomplished this year. Watch this slideshow video of photos from 2022 and below that you'll see a list of this year's major accomplishments. This year we... Trained 1,786 people from across the globe in one of our four trainings: Girls Circle, The Council for Boys and Young Men, Mitigating Gender and Racial Bias: Intersectionality and Allyship, and Mother-Daughter Circle Training. In-Person Training resumed in August, 80 scholarships were provided...

The best way to ensure youth feel comfortable to share and grow in their circle is to have a safe, stable, and predictable circle structure that occurs each session. This provides girls/boys with a reliable framework that they can trust and count on to happen each time. A crucial part of creating this safe, stable circle structure is the talking piece. The talking piece may be a talking stick, an object from nature such as a beautiful shell or large rock, or another item of value and meaning to the group.  The talking piece is a physical item that is used whenever the practice of attentive listening is particularly important. During check-in and at certain times during the circle session one person shares about the topic at hand by holding the talking piece and speaking from their heart, while all others listen attentively and without interruption. To begin using the talking piece

A New Grant Writer’s Template is now available for Unity Circle® and we've updated the Grant Writer’s Template for Girls Circle® and The Council for Boys and Young Men®. The templates are available for free and provide your setting with comprehensive, sector-specific language to craft an effective grant proposal to fund One Circle Foundation professional training, curricula, and implementation that fits your unique needs. Copy and paste the written content right out of any One Circle Foundation Grant Writer’s Template directly into your grant proposal.

Summer can be a challenging time for youth and families. Youth may be prevented from engaging in meaningful activities due to a lack of resources, availability, financial access, or a host of other challenges.  During the One Circle Foundation facilitator support meeting in July, some of our partners shared creative ways that they continue to engage youth during the summer months. The ideas were too good not to share. With the permission of both of our partners, we are pleased to make available the following ideas for engaging youth in meaningful activities.

June is National Pride Month, a time to reflect on the actions and courageous efforts of countless LGBT+ individuals in our history who fought for the rights of entire communities that faced unjust violence, discrimination, or were flat-out ignored by larger society. Every Wednesday throughout June we provided a social media highlight on an amazing LGBT+ individual whose community work changed the course of American, and LGBT+, history. Read all 5 features on Harvey Milk, Gilbert Baker, Marsha P. Johnson, Bayard Rustin, and Stormé DeLarverie in this compilation-style blog post.