We Just Breathe Foundation is an opportunity to help empower youth in underserved communities through mindfulness. Our mission is to teach kids how to regulate their emotions and build mental and physical resilience through breathwork. The organization was founded by Michelle Alegria, Chicago television personality and wellness enthusiast. Michelle and her three young children tapped into the power of mindfulness, breathwork and yoga to help them recover from family trauma. This experience inspired Michelle to found We Just Breathe Foundation and help youth in low-income communities to use mindfulness as a tool for healing and thriving.
WJBF is a 501(c)3 (nonprofit) organization and donations are tax deductible.
The We Just Breathe Foundation (WJB) partners with various not-for-profit programs in Chicago’s low-income neighborhoods and provides them with a turn-key solution to bring mindful practices to their youth participants. We use our funding to purchase supplies and hire mentors who are paid more than the average pay scale. Our mentors are highly qualified yoga instructors of color who are underrepresented in the wellness space. We Just Breathe Foundation believes in the importance of representation. We are committed to hiring qualified Black and Brown ambassadors, so that the kids can make a natural connection and feel safe trying something new and liberating.
Our outreach to community organizations like the Chicago Housing Authority, Something Good in Englewood, The Chicago Police Department Youth Program, and others, are are seeing how these practices are making an impact. The idea is to teach children how to shift from stress response to rest response by going inward and connecting with their breath.
Breathwork and mindfulness offer so many psychological and physical benefits for children including building resilience, self-esteem, improved focus, silencing irrational thoughts, classroom behavior, and reduced stress and anxiety. We Just Breathe mentors adhere to a specific flow developed through a team of experts, that includes classic techniques with elements of music to build confidence and connection with the youth.
