Every year, hundreds of young people pack a suitcase, leave their homes and communities, and step into an unfamiliar country to volunteer through the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). It’s an extraordinary opportunity for growth — but it’s also, inevitably, an emotional journey. Volunteers are asked to explore new cultures, take on responsibilities, and cope with uncertainty, all while navigating homesickness, culture shock, and the everyday challenge of building a new life far from home.
How can mentors, tutors and coordinators support volunteers through this journey — encouraging them to grow without leaving them to struggle alone?
The GloRe Network has developed a practical answer: Circle of Security in ESC Mobilities, a new toolkit that brings the well-established Circle of Security® framework from attachment theory into the everyday practice of ESC mentoring.
What Is the Circle of Security?
The Circle of Security® model was originally developed by Robert Marvin (University of Virginia), together with Glen Cooper, Kent Hoffman and Bert Powell (Marycliff Institute, Spokane), who translated over fifty years of attachment research into a simple, visual framework.
At its heart, the Circle of Security describes two basic human needs that must both be met for us to feel secure and to thrive:
- The need to explore — to try new things, take on challenges, and grow (the secure base)
- The need for comfort and protection — to return to safety when things feel overwhelming (the safe haven)
Caregivers — and, in this context, mentors — act as the “hands on the circle,” supporting exploration when someone is ready to take risks, and offering comfort and protection when someone is overwhelmed and needs to recover.
Applied to ESC mobilities, this becomes a powerful lens: volunteers move up and down this circle constantly, sometimes needing encouragement to lead an activity or try a new role, and sometimes needing a mentor who simply listens, reassures, and helps them feel safe again.
Why This Toolkit, and Why Now
This resource was developed by The GloRe Network within the framework of the NEST project, a capacity-building initiative that brings together managers, mentors and tutors from ESC Lead Organisations to strengthen the quality, safety and advocacy capacity of the European Solidarity Corps network. It builds on two core NEST activities: a Networking Building Activity in Galbiate (October–November 2025) and a six-day Training Course on Risk Mitigation and Conflict Management in Crotone (March 2026), both focused on transferring quality standards, strengthening volunteer support, and reinforcing mentorship and conflict-management practices across the network.
The toolkit translates that experience into something any ESC organisation can pick up and use.
What’s Inside
The toolkit is a flexible, hands-on training resource, structured to move from theory to embodied, personal practice:
- Foundations of attachment theory, from John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth to more recent developments in embodied attachment — condensed into an accessible group activity (an interactive attachment timeline).
- A reflection walk that invites participants to reconnect with their own experiences of feeling safe and supported, building a shared language around secure relationships before introducing any theory.
- Practical COS tools for ESC mentoring, including a hands-on puzzle activity connecting Circle of Security concepts to real volunteer situations, and guidance for embedding safe-haven and secure-base practices across every phase of the ESC project cycle — from recruitment to farewell.
- Active listening exercises that help mentors build the core relational skill behind the whole model.
- Embodied, experiential activities, including a blindfolded exploration walk and a personal reflection exercise, that introduce the concept of “shark music” — the inner fear soundtrack that can pull a mentor’s hands off the circle when a volunteer’s needs touch old anxieties.
- Facilitator guidance on emotional safety, offering concrete language and practices to keep group sessions safe, regulated and respectful of each participant’s pace.
- A glossary and a printable quick-reference card summarising the eight core Circle of Security actions, ready to use during mentoring conversations or team supervision.
Each activity sheet includes clear objectives, recommended duration and group size, materials, and step-by-step guidance, so organisations can run the toolkit as a full training programme or pick individual workshops to fit their own time and context.
Who It’s For
This toolkit is designed for anyone supporting ESC volunteers day to day: mentors, tutors, project coordinators, and trainers working within ESC Lead Organisations and their partners. Whether you’re building safer onboarding practices, training new mentors, or simply looking for a shared language to talk about volunteer wellbeing within your team, this resource offers a concrete starting point.
Download the Toolkit
Circle of Security in ESC Mobilities is shared freely by The GloRe Network, in line with its mission to strengthen the quality and inclusiveness of volunteering across Europe.
Download the full toolkit (PDF) to bring Circle of Security into your organisation’s mentoring practice.
