Tag Archives: Girls Circle

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.

I went through Girls Circle Facilitator Training in 2017, and had the privilege of being trained by the wonderful Victoria Mahand. I remember going up to her after the training and asking her, “How do I do, what you do?” I was referring to her charismatic, inclusive, effective facilitation style. What she did next was model what a facilitator does. She didn’t give advice, she told me, “Danielle, go out and do.” So, that’s what I did for 5 years. I ran circles and grew our program within our community. However, I struggled those first few years with

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. 

Dear Friends and Partners -   I am excited to announce that earlier this month, I joined One Circle Foundation's tireless and devoted co-founder, Beth Hossfeld, in the role of Board Co-Chair.   I have proudly served OCF as a director since 2019, most recently as Vice President during a time of significant change for the organization and the collective world. In partnership with the board, Beth and I grew and diversified our leadership talent and strengthened our policies to adapt to increased demand and our new ways of working. 

16 years ago I was intimidated, excited, nervous, and honored to be given the opportunity to facilitate my first Girls Circle with eight 16-17-year-old girls, all of whom were on probation. They were required to attend as a condition of their probation and we met in a classroom on their high school campus right after school each Wednesday. Going into that first session, I did all of the extra things that I could think of

... Through my work, I am lucky and blessed to help enrich and empower girls and young women to pursue their intellectual pursuits with confidence, curiosity, and agency. This is my purpose! This is what I was born to do. Just today at our Circle of Peace, which is a daily community gathering amongst students and staff, I recited the Horizons pledge to remind our scholars that we are all sisters in this:  I promise to lift other girls up, have their backs, and make it safe for them to be exactly who they are. Every time I look in the mirror, I’ll remind myself that I am not alone, that I am beautiful, that my voice matters, and that I am enough. To anyone and everyone, including all of the young women that I have served and will serve, THANK YOU for making a difference in my life! Though that imposter syndrome creeps up every now and then, you all are the remedy that treats me every time! I am enough and so are you!  Next week, we will celebrate all things GIRL and everything that we have accomplished, persevered through, and fought for. It is a day where we uplift girls and women all around us, all over the world, those who are silenced and those who have amplified, past and present, here and now. What a day to celebrate women and girls! I challenge you to make a promise and commitment to continue to make an impact in a girl’s life. 

Let me ask this: what happens when children don’t have “Real Models” to look up to? What happens when the very people that brought children into this world don’t exemplify healthy love? What happens when children don’t have a village? What if I said, “When the community children stop crying, the community is dying.”  I invite you to stop reading for a moment and think about that. I was reared in a time where as soon as the street light came on I had to be back at the house. A time where if I was doing something I had no business it was OK for someone from the village to say, “All right now, you know better. Do I need to call your grandparents?” A time where grandma always had a home-cooked meal. I was reared to be respectful, yes mam/ no mam, or yes sir/no sir

I’ve come full circle with One Circle Foundation. When I look back on my family heritage and upbringing, I marvel at the events, large and small, that have led me to be where I am today: at the helm of such an incredible organization. I am the proud granddaughter of Asian American ancestry. A tragic yet beautiful love story, my paternal grandparents met and fell in love in the Japanese internment camps. They adopted my father from Japan from a low-income single mother who couldn’t afford to keep all three of her children. My mother came from Korea as an exchange student and used to sell handmade jewelry at the flea market. My parents met and first flirted at a donut shop where my mother worked, which may be responsible for my life-long love affair with donuts. I grew up seeing my parents work double shifts, night shifts, and overtime to raise me and my two siblings. I’m proud and forever grateful for my parents for all they sacrificed and invested in us. I was honored to be able to see their journey from recent immigrants to professionals as a pharmacist and nurse

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

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.