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Our Mission Statement
The One Life Project is a student-founded nonprofit supporting the mental health, self-worth, and personal growth of youth from early childhood through college, with a mission to prevent suicide, end stigma, and ensure every young person feels seen, valued, and supported.
Our Mission and Goals
The One Life Project is a student-founded, student-led nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing youth mental health through education, advocacy, and prevention. We support young people from early childhood through young adulthood by equipping them with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to navigate emotional well-being, self-esteem, and life’s challenges.
Our work is rooted along the East Coast of the United States, where our mission began and continues to grow. Today, the organization is guided by senior leadership offices in Boston, Massachusetts; Amherst and Salem, Massachusetts; New York City, New York; and Miami Beach, Florida, which provide strategic direction, program development, and regional leadership. In addition, our volunteer-run outreach centers in communities across Maine, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and New York allow us to remain deeply connected to local schools, families, and youth-serving partners.
Through school-based education programs, community training, youth-led advocacy, and preventative mental health initiatives, the One Life Project works to reduce stigma, strengthen emotional literacy, and promote help-seeking behaviors before a crisis occurs. More than 90% of our team is made up of high school and college students, ensuring that the youth voice remains at the center of everything we do.
While our physical presence is concentrated along the East Coast, our impact extends beyond geography through digital education, online resources, and national awareness campaigns that reach young people wherever they are. We are committed to building a culture rooted in empathy, resilience, and hope, one where every young person feels seen, supported, and empowered.
At the heart of our mission is a simple belief: every young life matters, and no one should ever feel alone in their mental health journey.
About One Life Project
The One Life Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on February 14, 2018, by Alexander Kovarovic, who continues to serve as President and Chief Executive Director. What began as a grassroots effort in upstate New York has grown into a trusted, youth-centered mental health organization serving communities across the East Coast and beyond. Today, the organization is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and guided by senior leadership offices in Boston, Amherst, Salem, New York City, and Miami Beach.
The One Life Project is dedicated to supporting the mental health, self-esteem, and personal growth of youth and young adults from early childhood through the college years. Our work focuses on education, prevention, advocacy, and community connection during the most formative stages of emotional development. We meet young people where they are through school-based programs, campus initiatives, community outreach, and accessible digital resources designed to reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking.
Our impact is powered almost entirely by volunteers. Nearly 100% of our team is volunteer-led, with the majority made up of high school and college students who bring lived experience, passion, and leadership to the work. Alongside our student leaders, adult volunteers, educators, and community partners help guide and support our mission. Together, our network spans thousands of volunteers, advocates, and supporters who believe in building change from within the communities we serve.
In addition to our senior leadership offices, the One Life Project operates volunteer-run outreach centers in Maine, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and New York. These local hubs allow us to remain deeply connected to the communities we serve while expanding our reach through regional collaboration and digital engagement.
On January 4, 2021, we introduced our organizational motto: Be true. Be you. Be kind. This message reflects our core values and our belief that authenticity, compassion, and connection are central to youth mental well-being.
As the organization continues to grow, the One Life Project remains committed to building an East Coast-led movement grounded in empathy, education, and prevention. Through community-based programs, youth leadership, and a rapidly expanding digital presence, we are working to ensure that every young person knows they matter, their voice matters, and they are never alone.
How We Started
The One Life Project began with a simple but powerful goal: to make sure no young person feels alone in what they’re going through. As a high school senior, Alexander Kovarovic was driven by his own experiences to create something that could help others facing similar challenges. After graduating, he founded the National Youth Internet Safety and Cyberbullying Task Force, an early version of the organization that focused on supporting youth affected by online bullying and digital safety concerns. In 2020, the organization evolved into what is now the One Life Project, expanding its mission to focus more deeply on youth mental health, self-esteem, and personal growth. In 2021, our motto “Be true. Be you. Be kind.” was adopted as a guiding message, a reminder that being authentic and showing kindness can change lives and build more compassionate communities.
Importance of Our Mission
Youth mental health advocacy is of high importance as it addresses the unique challenges faced by the younger generation during a crucial period of development. Adolescence and young adulthood are transformative phases marked by significant emotional, social, and academic changes. Effective education, support, and advocacy ensures that the mental health needs of young individuals are not only acknowledged but prioritized. By promoting awareness, challenging stigmas, and advocating for accessible mental health resources, youth mental health advocacy fosters an environment where young people feel supported, understood, and empowered to seek help.
Mental health includes our social well-being as well as our psychological and emotional health. Our mental health affects how we think, how we act, our self esteem, how we view ourselves and others. Whether we are five years old, graduating high school, going through college, starting our first job, or retiring fifty years later, mental health is important and ignoring it can be detrimental to our overall well-being. Our social life is also heavily affected by our mental health.
The One Life Project's mission allows us to stand up for young people who are not yet strong enough to stand on their own. We work to educate, advocate for, and support them through some of the most difficult years of our lives.
One Life Project's East Coast Reach
The One Life Project’s offices serve as the operational and relational backbone of our mission, allowing us to lead regionally while staying deeply connected to the communities we serve. Our Senior Leadership Offices, located in Boston, Amherst, and Salem, Massachusetts; New York City, New York; and Miami Beach, Florida, guide organizational strategy, program development, partnerships, and regional coordination across the East Coast.
Alongside our leadership offices, The One Life Project operates a network of volunteer-run Outreach Centers in Old Orchard Beach, Maine; Hershey and State College, Pennsylvania; Wildwood and Trenton, New Jersey; Geneva, New York; and Morgantown and Bluefield, West Virginia. These centers function as community-facing hubs for education, outreach, events, and youth engagement, allowing our work to remain responsive, accessible, and locally grounded.
Together, this structure enables The One Life Project to balance strong organizational leadership with grassroots connection. We are present in college towns, coastal communities, urban centers, and rural regions, meeting young people where they are both geographically and emotionally. Through partnerships with schools, universities, and local organizations, our offices support honest conversations about mental health, promote prevention-focused education, and foster environments rooted in empathy and belonging.
Our impact is measured not only by how far our reach extends, but by how intentionally we show up. Across every location, The One Life Project is committed to creating spaces where young people feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow, connect, and thrive.
