The RESTORE Project
The RESTORE Project
  • Home
  • Board (Wisdom Circle)
  • Community Partners
  • Organizers

Supporting healing and connection in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

Mindfulness Programs for Community Well-Being

Mindfulness Programs for Community Well-BeingMindfulness Programs for Community Well-BeingMindfulness Programs for Community Well-Being
Support this Work

Supporting healing and connection in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

Mindfulness Programs for Community Well-Being

Mindfulness Programs for Community Well-BeingMindfulness Programs for Community Well-BeingMindfulness Programs for Community Well-Being
Support this Work

About The RESTORE Project

Our Mission

The RESTORE Project is a registered 501c3 organization dedicated to enhancing the well-being of historically rooted communities in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, VA. We strive to create an inclusive environment where individuals can explore mindfulness and healing practices that resonate with their cultural backgrounds.

The RESTORE Project's Programs

Empowered and Peaceful™ Parenting Support

Empowered and Peaceful™ Parenting Support

Empowered and Peaceful™ Parenting Support

 

A person-centered, mindfulness-based experience for caregivers seeking to raise children in Love without losing themselves in the process. We offer grounding practices, community support, and space to reconnect with your own wisdom while parenting intentionally.

Community Rest Installations

Empowered and Peaceful™ Parenting Support

Empowered and Peaceful™ Parenting Support

 

These pop-up healing spaces invite individuals and families to pause, breathe, and soften. Rooted in womanist traditions of communal care, our installations offer rest as resistance—and restoration—as a right.

Trauma-Informed Money Mentoring

Empowered and Peaceful™ Parenting Support

Trauma-Informed Swim Instruction

 

In partnership with trauma-informed money coach Aqura Nicholson, this offering supports participants in healing their relationship with money through safety, clarity, and values-based financial practice. Reclaim your power without shame.

Trauma-Informed Swim Instruction

Beginner-Friendly Culturally-Responsive Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mindful Living Workshops

Trauma-Informed Swim Instruction

 

In collaboration with the Piedmont Family YMCA, this program offers culturally-responsive, trauma-aware swim experiences for families—especially Black mothers and their children—centering safety, joy, and body-trust in the water.

Culturally-Responsive Health Coaching

Beginner-Friendly Culturally-Responsive Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mindful Living Workshops

Beginner-Friendly Culturally-Responsive Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mindful Living Workshops

 

Partnering with Eat Plants & Prosper, we support whole-body wellness through affirming, accessible, plant-centered care. This offering honors your story, your heritage, and your evolving path toward nourishment and vitality.

Beginner-Friendly Culturally-Responsive Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mindful Living Workshops

Beginner-Friendly Culturally-Responsive Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mindful Living Workshops

Beginner-Friendly Culturally-Responsive Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mindful Living Workshops

 

Designed for new and returning practitioners, these workshops weave mindfulness with culture, history, and body-awareness—creating brave, welcoming spaces to ground, reflect, and grow.

Calm Coaching™ – 1:1 and Group Format

Whole-Being Wellbeing™ Toolkits and Training

Leadership Mentoring – 1:1 and Group Format

 

Gentle, customized support for those seeking to regulate their nervous systems, reconnect with their bodies, and re-enter their lives with clarity and intention. Offered in private or group settings with Yolonda Coles Jones, The Calm and Thrive Coach.

Leadership Mentoring – 1:1 and Group Format

Whole-Being Wellbeing™ Toolkits and Training

Leadership Mentoring – 1:1 and Group Format

 

A conscious, compassion-based leadership space for change-makers, culture-shapers, and caregivers. These sessions help you lead from your values, stay connected to your body, and expand without burning out.

Whole-Being Wellbeing™ Toolkits and Training

Whole-Being Wellbeing™ Toolkits and Training

Whole-Being Wellbeing™ Toolkits and Training

 

Our toolkits and training equip individuals, families, and organizations with accessible practices for rest, regulation, and relational thriving. Built for real life and rooted in love.

Healing Circles

Scholarly Talks and Lectures

Whole-Being Wellbeing™ Toolkits and Training

 

Our Healing Circles create sacred space for reflection, storytelling, and collective release. Facilitated with tenderness and care, they are rooted in ancestral wisdom and contemporary mental-emotional needs.

Scholarly Talks and Lectures

Scholarly Talks and Lectures

Scholarly Talks and Lectures

 

Led by Yolonda Coles Jones, founder and executive director of The RESTORE Project, these talks bridge academic research, lived experience, and current data to illuminate the impact of systemic harm on Black and Brown nervous systems—and the urgent need for culturally rooted healing. Drawing from sociology, psychology, history, and both local and national statistics, these presentations offer a clear-eyed look at how intergenerational trauma, structural violence, and ongoing inequities shape everyday life—and how we might interrupt the cycle with care, dignity, and evidence-based tools for empowered living.

Whether speaking to community groups, academic institutions, policy leaders, or organizational teams, Yolonda offers truth with tenderness and clarity with compassion—anchored in womanist tradition, professional training, and years of grassroots engagement.

Capturing moments of healing and connection: A gallery of The RESTORE Project's journey

    The RESTORE Project's Outcomes

    Direct 1:1 Coaching, Mentoring, Calm Coaching™, and Parenting Support Sessions across 2 years (May 2

    22 out of 29 Trauma-Informed Family Swim Access at YMCA Participants in Year 2

    8 out of 9 Trauma-Informed Family Swim Access at YMCA Participants in Year 1

    92% reported increased sense of self-worth and clarity in decision-making after 1:1 session

    85% reported improved communication with co-parents, family members, friends and/or co-workers after

    60% began new family rhythms (rest routines, caregiving schedules, financial shifts)

    96% of mothers who completed 1 coaching session requested continued access

    Multiple mothers credited RESTORE with helping them avoid crisis-level breakdowns in their parenting

    #

    Board (Wisdom Circle)

    #

    Founder

    #

    Partners

    Group of Black mothers being guided through restorative embodiment practices in Albemarle County, Va

    Support Our Community's Healing Journey

    Your generous donations help The RESTORE Project provide mindfulness-based programs for historically rooted communities in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, VA. Together, we can create spaces for self-discovery, connection, and restoration.

    Donate Now to Make a Difference

    We Love our Community Partners!

    We believe in the power of community and the importance of working together to achieve our goals. At The RESTORE Project, we cultivate partnerships with organizations, businesses, and individuals who share our commitment to rest, healing, and collective well-being. Click below to learn more about our collaborations.

    Find out more

    Meet the Founder & Executive Director

    Native, Descendent, Current Resident & Community Teacher

    Meet the Founder & Executive Director

    In October 2022, I found myself yearning to connect with a deeply rested version of myself—one that I had never truly met before. As a homeschooling mother, the sole breadwinner at the time for a household of six, a Black woman, an entrepreneur, I felt the weight of it all pressing in too closely. I was tired of hearing myself say, "I'm not okay." I knew something had to change.


    So, I took a radical step. I made a bold, faith-filled decision to block off the entire month of November for deep rest and restoration. One of the questions I carried into that rest period was inspired by Tricia Hersey’s then newly published book (only days before), Rest is Resistance: "How can I support myself and my community?"


    By the end of those thirty days, the vision for The RESTORE Project came through as clear as day. I filled pages and pages with what I saw, and from those words, action emerged. I began hosting rest installations in spaces where Black people have historically gathered in large numbers—places I knew intimately from my own childhood. I returned to the meeting spaces where my parents, local church leaders who grew up in the Prospect, Dice Street, and Vinegar Hill neighborhoods, and their parents (my grandparents) had taken me Sunday after Sunday. I set up sanctuaries of stillness in the very places where my community had long gathered in faith, resilience, and resistance.


    The numbers are staggering. At the time of this writing (2025), Black women face the highest rates of hypertension, maternal mortality, cardiovascular disease, and intimate partner violence. We are more likely to live in poverty, less likely to receive adequate healthcare, and more prone to exhaustion from laboring within systems not built for our thriving.


    I am these numbers. My mother, my grandmothers, my aunties, my cousins, our national she-roes—we are these numbers. And this is why I founded The RESTORE Project. This is why I am ferociously sowing into it. Not just because we deserve rest. Not just because we deserve restoration and to thrive. Also because: justice. 

    Join Us

    Help Our Cause

    Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and fund our mission.

    GIVE

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Please reach us at yolonda@therestoreproject.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.

    The RESTORE Project cultivates healing, resilience, and connection through mindfulness-based programming, immersive experiences, and community partnerships. We create spaces that nurture well-being, empower individuals, and strengthen communities by fostering presence, awareness, and collective care.


    The RESTORE Project was founded in 2022 and has been providing services to residents of Charlottesville and Albemarle County (and beyond) ever since.


    The RESTORE Project is based in and primarily serves Charlottesville, VA and Albemarle County, VA. 


    The RESTORE Project is for individuals and communities seeking healing, resilience, and connection through mindfulness and intentional practice. Founded by and with deep consideration for the needs of Black residents in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, this program was created to support those navigating stress, systemic challenges, and the demands of daily life. While rooted in this purpose, RESTORE is open to anyone who respects its mission and is looking for support in cultivating presence, well-being, and sustainable practices for personal and collective care.


    Give! and spread the word about what we're doing. 


    Yes. We are in the process of transitioning from fiscal sponsorship to a fully independent nonprofit organization.


    We offer mindfulness-based programming, community gatherings, healing spaces, educational workshops, and collaborative projects with local partners to support well-being and empowerment.


    Our work is supported through grants, individual donations, partnerships, and program-related funding.


    We collaborate with local organizations such as the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, Piedmont Family YMCA, Common Ground Healing Arts, and many more to create impactful community programs. Find more information on our Community Partners here. 


    Donations can be made through our website or mailed to an address we can provide upon contacting us. Contributions help sustain our programming and expand access to healing and empowerment resources.


    Not at all! Our programs are accessible to beginners and those with experience alike. We create welcoming spaces for learning and growth.


    Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on programs, events, and opportunities to get involved.


    What People Say

    Contact Us

    We'd love to hear from you.

    The RESTORE Project

    yolonda@therestoreproject.org

    Drop us a line!

    Attach Files
    Attachments (0)

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Cancel

    Subscribe

    Sign up to stay in the know about the work RESTORE is doing.

    Copyright © 2025 The RESTORE Project - All Rights Reserved.

    Powered by

    • Community Partners
    • Organizers

    This website uses cookies.

    We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

    Accept