Circles Upstate SC
Become an Ally
An Ally’s friendship will support a
family in poverty to thrive in perpetuity.
What do you do when you see other people who have not had the same opportunities as you? Don’t you want to help? You can become a Circle Ally and form an intentional friendship with an individual or family working toward economic stability. Circle Allies join Circle Leaders in their quest to have enough resources, relationships and purpose to thrive. Circles provides an opportunity to use this greater understanding of poverty to advocate within the community to change the systemic barriers that prevent many from becoming economically stable.
Becoming a Circle Ally is a five-step process that involves being open to increasing one’s understanding of poverty and to personally reflect on how to be a friend who empowers and supports the Circle Leader on his or her self-directed journey out of poverty. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Learn about Circles
There are several ways you can learn more about our unique approach to helping families become financially stable and reducing poverty in our community.
Step 2: Complete an Application
Once you have learned what it means to become a Circle Ally, you will need to fill out an application.
Step 3: Participate in an Interview
After reviewing your application, one of our Circles members will contact you to schedule a phone or in-person interview to talk about the role of an Ally. Our interviews are relaxed and easy. We want to learn more about you and your desire to become involved in Circles. You may ask questions to ensure that the program is a good fit for you.
Step 4: Engage in Training
Training is an important part of becoming an Ally. Before we partner you with a leader, we want to help you understand the mission and model of Circles, increase your “poverty IQ”, learn how to be a successful ally and understand the expectations for your role. This happens at the beginning of the program cycle.
Step 5: Partner with a Leader
During the training period, we facilitate numerous opportunities to get to know you and your special skills better and to get to know the Leaders individually. After that, we begin the process of pairing Allies and Leaders. We like to pair two Allies with one Leader where everyone is linked by common personality traits, communication styles, and interests. Our goal is to have you feel empowered to help the Leader and fulfilled by helping them reach their goals.