A surprising number of teenagers and young adults feel genuinely alone — surrounded by people, but unsure how to turn a classroom or a campus into a real friendship. The hardest part is that the skills of connection are rarely taught anywhere. The hopeful part is that they can be taught. Connection is a skill, not a personality you're born with — which means it's something any young person can learn.

The SIEL Project is a San Diego–based 501(c)(3), founded in 2022, with a simple mission: help young people build the confidence and skills to find their people. Our founder, John Bush, has spent over 10,000 hours coaching people through exactly these challenges and taught social skills in a high school classroom for two years — so the approach behind our work is proven. We're focused on bringing it, free, to the young people who need it most.

For the past two years we've been out in the community — presenting to educators, showing up at school and neighborhood events, and putting practical resources into the hands of students and parents. Now we're ready for the deeper work: hands-on workshops where teens and young adults actually practice starting conversations, listening well, and building real friendships — the things that turn loneliness into belonging.

That's where you come in. About $500 helps fund a full workshop for a classroom of roughly 25 students — around $20 a student — delivered free to schools that couldn't otherwise afford it. Your gift helps us reach more young people, in more classrooms, with skills that genuinely change how their lives feel.

The SIEL Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 88-4189654). Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Help Young People Find Their People