Circle Program

Empower. Transform. Enrich girls’ lives. Through community. Connection. Camp. Mentorship. Circle Program was founded in 1993 by the trustees and camp director of Camp Onaway, a camp for girls on Newfound Lake in Hebron, New Hampshire. They wanted to create a summer camp program for socially and economically disadvantaged New Hampshire girls, but recognized the fact that just a few weeks at camp might not be enough to make a sustainable difference in the lives of the girls. They modeled Circle Program after the Mayhew Program for boys and combined residential summer camp with year-round, one-on-one mentoring. The Circle began as a "pilot program" with twenty-two girls. Currently, over eighty girls and teens are enrolled and they come from thirty-two towns throughout the Lakes Region. Circle Program is the only program of its kind serving girls in New Hampshire. It is also one of the only programs in the country that combines camp and mentoring, serving rural girls.