Friends Forever is an independent 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that utilizes a grassroots approach to help youth from conflict-prone regions of the world build lasting friendships across cultural, religious and political divides. Serving as a liaison between U.S and international communities, we allow people of all backgrounds to participate first-hand in the international peace process.

Mission: The goal of Friends Forever is to create trust, empathy, and friendships between cultures in conflict by working with international and local youth leaders.

History:  Rotarian and YMCA director Bob Raiche founded Friends Forever in 1986. Bob believed there was a need for a program like Friends Forever after reading countless newspaper articles covering the conflict in Northern Ireland. Our first delegation of youth leaders was made up of five Catholic and five Protestant young men from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, who traveled to Portsmouth, NH in the fall of 1986.

Bob’s experience with group work led him to create the “Life Raft Formula”, now known as the U.S. Skill Building Phase.  Since our founding, we have applied this simple, yet innovative group work theory to more than 1,300 youth around the world.