One Love Foundation

In May of 2010, the unthinkable happened to the Love Family. Sharon Love was notified by police that her beloved daughter, Yeardley Love, had been beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend, just 2 weeks shy of graduation from University of Virginia.

Following the tragic loss, Sharon Love, together with Yeardley’s sister, Lexie, created One Love Foundation, an organization that empowers young people with the knowledge to identify and avoid abusive relationships. That Yeardley would get hurt by her partner had never crossed Sharon’s mind. Sharon didn’t know then what she knows now that relationship abuse is a public health epidemic and that young women in Yeardley’s age group are at three times greater risk than any other demographic.

Over 1 in 3 women, nearly 1 in 3 men, and over 1 in 2 trans or non-binary people will experience some level of relationship abuse in their life. One Love works to provide young people with the
tools and resources that Yeardley and her family didn’t have. Catherine Barthelme-Miller, Yeardley’s best friend and now co-chair of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Advisory Board, based in Baltimore, works tirelessly to ensure students receive this potentially life-saving education “While there is only one person to blame for losing Yeardley, her death really brought to our forefront the need for structured education and conversation about relationship health for young people. One Love’s work will help arm this generation with the tools necessary to change the staggering statistics around relationship violence.”

Since 2015, One Love has engaged young people through compelling, film-based discussions around healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors. They have even created the 10 Signs of a Healthy and Unhealthy Relationship as a resource to help give a language to the behaviors people may experience in a relationship.

To date, One Love has educated over 350,000 people in the Mid-Atlantic region and over 2 million young people nationally. In Maryland, DC, Del and VA, One Love workshops are used by over 190 schools, 88 colleges and 60 nonprofits and community-based organizations.

This year is also off to a busy start for One Love. This February in honor of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, One Love will release a new national PSA highlighting the dangers of online
abuse. They are also looking ahead to the Spring where they will host their annual Move For Love Walk/Run event in partnership with the Baltimore Ravens.

Ojeda Hall, One Love’s regional Executive Director, recalls “both of my grandmothers were survivors of domestic violence. One Love helped me realize that my first relationship was abusive.”

Sharon misses her daughter every day, but she has used her loss to bring light to so many others. And, as the next generation learns to have healthier relationships and be with partners who practice healthy love, Yeardley’s legacy lives on, ensuring that the joy she brought to the world lasts forever.

To learn more about the One Love Foundation please visit Joinonelove.org