Astounding Dedication from Facilitators

At One Circle Foundation, we often talk about the dedication and commitment of our facilitators. I want to take a minute and share examples of this dedication from two individuals who attended a Girls Circle Facilitator Training at the end of September.

Sapphire was registered to attend our Girls Circle training online. When we began the training, Sapphire let us know that she was pregnant and that she may not be able to attend on day 3 of the training as she had a scheduled doctor's appointment. We let Sapphire know that it was no problem and that OCF could reschedule her third day of training. On day 2 of training, Sapphire let us know that although she had a scheduled appointment she would be attending on day 3 and wanted to complete her training as she had developed relationships with the other facilitators and wanted to finish the training with the individuals she had formed relationships with.  On day 3 we found out Sapphire was going to deliver her daughter later in the morning but would complete the training. Sapphire traveled to the hospital while still participating and completed her training from her hospital bed moments before giving birth to her daughter!

Melinda attended our training from Ft Myers, Florida. On day 1 of training, we let Melinda know that due to the pending hurricane Ian we would be happy to reschedule her training. During breaks on day 1, Melinda was beginning to secure her home. On day 2 Melinda attended training and continued to participate and communicate with us through text and zoom. Early morning Melinda lost power yet continued to participate in training by connecting to a hotspot and using a flashlight, we again assured Melinda that she could reschedule at a later time. Melinda shared that she had connected with others in the training and really wanted to finish with the individuals she had connected with. At 2 pm est Melinda let us know that Ian had come ashore and that she may drop off, yet Melinda continued training completing day 2. On day 3 I received a text from Melinda that she was unable to attend as there were no connections to the internet, no water, and a lot of damage but she and her family were safe. Throughout the weekend Malinda texted to let us know she was ok just without power and water. On Wednesday I received a text from Melinda letting us know she regained power on Saturday night however still did not have water and wanted to reschedule her day 3 of training. On Thursday I received another text asking us to keep Ft Myers in our thoughts and that she would email when she got home. Melinda, although she had no water and significant damage, was out volunteering to pack and give away food and diapers to others in need.

At One Circle Foundation, we know that all of our participants are dedicated and committed but these two really went above and beyond and we can not be prouder to have them as part of our community. We feel so blessed to have these two women working with youth and their communities. They are truly amazing humans!