Who We Are

In February of 2019, the Roanoke City Council established a charter declaring Roanoke a Compassioante City. The City Manager’s office asked the Mindfulness Institute of the Roanoke Valley to take the lead in developing what became the Compassionate Roanoke Intiative. Following a model laid out by the Charter for Compassion, a group of local partners was formed to investigate and plan ways to change Roanoke for the better. The team realized the greatest areas of need involved diversity, equity, and inclusion, and began initiating or expanding projects and events to address those needs.