Our Story

It started with a Facebook post.

In 2018, after yet another school shooting, Connie Clotworthy wrote five words that changed the direction of her life: "Who's ready to do something?"

The Post that Started Everything

In Connie's Own Words

Connie Clotworthy

Feb. 2018

Are you ready for change? Want to be a part of the next revolution?
BEYOND PURPOSE. The time is now.

Hey guys. How about this world we're living in? I can't sit by any longer and talk about how "they" aren't going to do anything. Nothing's going to happen, nothing will change. This last shooting is just another to be forgotten. BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD

I'm in the beginning stages of launching a program called Beyond Purpose. Its mission is to bring all different types of mindfulness into the world.

As many of you know meditation is a huge part of my life. It has changed my life beyond explanation. It has given me peace and purpose, connection and passion, and most of all.... a wholeness I have been searching for my entire life.

The Dalai Lama said... "Teach every 8 year old to meditate, and we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation." That, right there, has become my mantra.

Kids are typically not taught the skills or given the tools needed to deal with anger, frustration, anxiety or most of the more challenging emotions. Past generations were taught to bury feelings deep inside. Some people use food, or sex, or work, or shopping.... and this new timely one: shooting guns as a form of therapy. Yikes.

Meditation has taught me how to sit with my emotions and feel them in a safe space. And how to watch them pass. How to know that anything that I think or feel is not permanent. That nothing is. Meditation is known to help with anxiety, stress, depression, helps you to focus and concentrate, how to regulate mood and happiness, develop emotional intelligence, the list of benefits literally goes on and on.

And it has to start with our kids.

I have been called to work with youth groups, schools, after school programs, the police force, parents, students, individuals and families. The call for this is abundant, more than I anticipated in the beginning stages.

We don't stop war with more war. We don't need to arm our teachers. We simply can not recall every gun sold or stop people from bearing arms. We CAN arm our youth with the skills and tools needed to deal with life. We can teach tools that develop focus and mental well being. We can work together to stabilize mental illness. We can teach young people how to turn off the screens and turn within and find peace. We can teach them how to breathe deeply and calm anxiety and fear. And we can teach how to choose LOVE every time.

Please join me. I can't even begin to explain some of the amazing connections I've had with these children. They're hungry for change and they deserve a better world than we're giving them.

BE ON PURPOSE

From that day forward

From a post to 1,600 students.

That Facebook post led to Connie’s first classroom.
Then to a summer camp in Jamaica, where she taught kids meditation for the first time—and returned for five years, watching the students become the teachers.

By 2019, Worthy Beyond Purpose was a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and Connie was building a 10-month weekly curriculum that would become The Zone. When COVID shut down schools in 2020, WBP moved online for two years. When schools reopened in 2022, the program came back stronger, with formal data tracking and a growing list of partner schools.

Today, WBP operates in 7 elementary schools across Los Angeles, working with over 1,600 students. One partner school has been in the program for five consecutive years, and their data tells the story: 30% less conflict campus-wide. The program runs every week, in every partner school, 10 months out of the year. And it is still growing.

You might have already stopped the next school shooter, and you'll never know. You might have already given a kid a tool to not reach for the gun. So you just need to trust that.
Connie's coach, on the intangible impact of the work

Our Journey

Seven years of growing roots.

2017

Treasure Beach, Jamaica

At a summer camp in Jamaica, a child named Parys ran over to join Connie's meditation practice. Watching Parys drop into a calm, blissful state, Connie realized her mission: teach kids meditation. Parys was her very first student and still practices with her today.

2018

The Facebook post

After the Parkland shooting, Connie writes the post that starts everything. WBP is created and becomes a nonprofit, bringing mindfulness into schools across LA County.

2019

Tanzania, Africa

WBP visits Kaole Primary School, teaching 150 students breathing and yoga techniques. Their interpreter, Mandela, continues the work week after week on his own.

2020

Online, worldwide

When the pandemic closes schools, WBP moves online immediately, reaching hundreds of kids worldwide. They launch an after-school program and their first online summer camp featuring mindfulness, music, drama, and creative arts.

2021

LAUSD charter partnerships

Invited to join 7 new schools, reaching 700+ students. WBP privately raises funds to support a full year of in-person work and begins quarterly wellness events for school administrators.

2022

Growth and recognition

Expanding from 3rd graders to pre-K through 5th grade, growing from 700 to 1,200 students, and doubling the facilitator team. Recognized on KNBC and WebMD for the benefits of mindfulness in schools.

2023

Expansion and community

Over 1,200 students across six schools. Workshops for parents, teachers, and administrators deepen the impact. The Breathwork and Soundbath series launches as a space for community connection and healing.

2024

Seven schools and beyond

WBP reaches seven LA schools, partners with Girl Scouts, launches "Pack the Schools" and "Growing Mindfulness" campaigns, and develops three online training programs to bring mindfulness to parents, teachers, and individuals everywhere.

What Drives Us

Mission and vision.

Our Mission

To foster emotional intelligence and overall well-being in children through mindfulness and meditation.

Worthy Beyond Purpose exists to give kids the tools to look inward first—to breathe, feel, regulate, and express themselves with intention. Through weekly, in-school programming, these practices become habits they carry with them for life.

Our Vision

Every child grounded, empowered, and at peace.

In today's fast-paced and ever-changing world, children are facing rising levels of anxiety, stress, and disconnection, often without the tools to navigate it. At Worthy Beyond Purpose, we believe the most powerful solutions begin within. We equip children with lifelong practices to pause, look inward, and respond with awareness, choosing words over reactions and calm over chaos.

Through our programs, students, teachers, parents, and school communities develop essential skills in emotional regulation, self-awareness, and connection. These tools support healthier relationships, stronger classrooms, and a deeper sense of confidence, resilience, and well-being.

We envision a world where every child has access to these tools and grows up grounded, empowered, and at peace within themselves.

Connie and Jess volunteered at APCH for the semester that I was there. There were a lot of kids who really took to these exercises and connected with Connie and Jess. I think their empathy for the kids was part of what made their curriculum powerful. It will be great when yoga and mindfulness are no longer seen as "weird" but as a respite.

Haejung Kim
Instructor, Wilder Flowers Workshop at A Place Called Home

Our team

The people behind the work.

WBP is powered by an active board and a team of trained facilitators who show up in classrooms every week.

Founder and Executive Director

Connie Clotworthy

Connie Clotworthy founded Worthy Beyond Purpose in 2018 in response to the growing need for emotional support tools for youth. What began as a single Facebook post following the Parkland school shooting quickly evolved into a nonprofit now serving over 1,600 students across seven elementary schools in Los Angeles.

Connie’s personal mindfulness practice and her work with children developed alongside one another, shaping the foundation of her approach. Early experiences teaching mindfulness at summer camps in Jamaica showed her the profound impact these tools can have when introduced at a young age.

Today, Connie leads the development of The Zone curriculum, facilitates weekly Midweek Meditation Break sessions, and oversees all aspects of the organization’s growth and programming. She remains deeply committed to equipping children with practical tools to understand their emotions, build focus, and navigate challenges with greater awareness and resilience.