The Chair of JOY® Pilot: free for your classroom

Get a free Chair of JOY® for your classroom.

This is the Pilot: one free chair for your own classroom, no cost. Just a short one-on-one or group introduction so the chair doesn't sit unused. Register today.

What's included

  • One Chair of JOY® for your classroom
  • A brochure set explaining the practice
  • A gold Chair of JOY® plaque
  • A short one-on-one or group introduction to Sit. Breathe. Think. Feel.™, so the chair has guidance behind it, not just a spot in the room
  • A QR code on the chair linking to a Chair of JOY® audio guide you can listen to right from your phone

Please note Free Chairs of JOY are refurbished by volunteers from reclaimed, mostly wooden chairs, sanded and hand-painted with wood paint. Because each one is handmade from recycled materials, no two are exactly alike, and quality, finish, and condition can vary. Nothing about a free chair is guaranteed.

Chair of JOY®

Beyond the chair

It's So Much More Than a Chair.

Putting a Chair of JOY® somewhere is a good start: it's visible, it gets noticed, and it creates awareness and discussion. That's what the free Pilot is for.

The Chair of JOY® Program goes further. It's the guided activation, the staff and student guides, 30 days of reinforcement, and a simple way to see what's actually changing: the practice built into how your school runs, not just an object in a room.

The Chair of JOY® Program

Give students and educators something to do in the 60 seconds before overwhelm becomes behavior.

Give students and educators one visible place and one practical shared practice to recognize what they're feeling, regain clarity, and choose what happens next.

So much can move through someone in a single minute:

Anger Frustration Awe Wonder Curiosity Courage Gratitude Jealousy Worthiness Passion

The yellow chair is a reminder that it's not only okay, but healthy, to stop like this throughout the day.

The problem

Difficult moments are already happening.

:60A student becomes overwhelmed.

:40A teacher reaches the end of their patience.

:20A hard conversation starts going sideways.

:00The moment passes, and becomes the next reaction, instead of a different one.

The question isn't whether these moments happen. It's what people know to do when they do.

The practice

Give them something practical to do next.

Chair of JOY® PROGRAM

The practice gives people a structured moment to notice what's happening inside them before automatically moving into the next reaction. Usable in under a minute, anywhere it's needed.

The iconic yellow Chair of JOY® makes it difficult to miss: a visible, welcoming access point where students and educators can use Sit. Breathe. Think. Feel.™ during everyday difficult moments. It isn't furniture. It's the recognizable home for the practice.

Safety Presence Joy

Fits what you already do

Works With What You Already Have

Chair of JOY® does not replace your SEL, counseling, trauma-informed practices, restorative practices, or regulation programs. It gives them a visible place to be used in real time.

When stress, frustration, anger, worry, or overwhelm shows up, the Chair of JOY® offers a simple shared practice:

Sit. Breathe. Think. Feel.™ Safety. Presence. Joy.

The goal is not to make every emotion disappear. The goal is to help students and adults recognize what is happening, work with the emotion, and make a better next decision.

Use it alongside

Whatever your school already teaches, the Chair of JOY® gives students and adults a place to practice it when it matters most.

Early Data Reveals:

Schools are already telling us this is needed.

From the JOYELY Education Leadership Discovery Survey of school and district leaders.

80%
identified anxiety and stress as a major student challenge
60%
said access to mental health support is needed
Burnout
the most frequently identified educator challenge
80%
very interested in a practical tool for difficult moments
Dr. Beverly S. Mathis with the Chair of JOY®
“Children are more than the emotions they are experiencing in any one moment.”
Dr. Beverly S. Mathis Education Leader, Former CCSD Principal & Milken Educator Award Recipient
Dr. Tya Mathis-Coleman
“Everyone should have a Chair of JOY®, yes in the classroom, but also everywhere in the world where people are.”
Dr. Tya Mathis-Coleman Deputy Treasurer · Faculty Member · Board Member · Education Advocate · Community Champion

As Seen on Channel 3 News

Channel 3 News: Chair of JOY: Advocates In Action

Inspired by Dr. Beverly S. Mathis

Children are so much more
than the emotion of the moment.
More than the anger.
More than the fear.
More than the tears
they do not yet have words for.

They are not the outburst.
They are not the shutdown.
They are not the hardest day
they have ever had.

They are also the love.
The laughter.
The kindness.
The peace that still lives underneath.
The courage to try again.
The curiosity to keep learning.
The joy that can still be found
even on a difficult day.

Give them a place
to feel what is real,
to hear what the emotion is saying,
and to remember:

This feeling is part of me.
It is not all of me.

The program

One site, one program.

$2,500

The full Chair of JOY® Program, brought to one school or community site. Not a curriculum. A complete, ready-to-run program.

What's included

  • One Chair of JOY® access point
  • A 60–90 minute guided activation, led by a qualified JOYELY trainer with a background in education
  • The Sit. Breathe. Think. Feel.™ participant experience
  • Staff / leader guide
  • Participant quick guide
  • 30 days of reinforcement prompts
  • Before / after pulse survey, plus follow-up recommendations

Meet our trainers and speakers →

Beyond the Program

Schools that want to go deeper can move into more advanced programs: the science and research behind the practice, how to bring parents into it at home, additional Chairs of JOY placed around campus, and hands-on training for staff on where and how to use them.

Book a Discovery Call

Want it in your school but need help funding it?

Schools shouldn't have to carry this alone. We work with schools, PTAs and PTOs, education and community foundations, local businesses, and individual donors to explore sponsorship for qualified sites.

Explore Sponsorship

JOYELY gives students and educators a practical way to work with a difficult emotion before it becomes the next reaction, behavior, or consequence.

This isn't therapy, crisis intervention, discipline, or another long professional-development program. It's a shared, everyday practice that works alongside what your school already has.

Please noteA Chair of JOY® does not replace professional mental-health care, crisis services, counseling, or existing school protocols.