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Creative Joy

By Laura Hamlin Weiler ’00, Head of Community Engagement
Alumni duo Preston Slaughter ’10 and Holly Zajur ’11 are making mindfulness and creativity an integral part of the Richmond landscape
There is magic in watching someone experience the wonderment of nature for the first time. There is joy in seeing confidence swell when conquering an obstacle previously thought impossible. There is fulfillment in helping someone unleash a creativity they did not know existed. All of these are daily experiences for Trinity alumni and wellness purveyors Preston Slaughter ’10 and Holly Zajur ’11. 
 
Slaughter and Zajur work together at L.O.C.A.L. Adventures, a Richmond nonprofit “that empowers youth to explore their inner and outer landscape through mindfulness, the arts, and outdoor adventures.” Slaughter, the founder and president, and Zajur, a board member and program facilitator, are longtime friends who share a passion for mindful living, yoga, and the transformational power of nature. An acronym, L.O.C.A.L. stands for Local, Outdoor, Creative, Aware Learning — with the sum of those parts aimed at tackling the challenges facing Richmond’s youth by leveraging the amazing resources so abundant in the city. 
 
Partnering with organizations like NextUP RVA, Peter Paul Development Center and Richmond Public Schools, among others, on any given day, you can find Slaughter, Zajur or another member of the L.O.C.A.L. team out in the community — taking students hiking on the James River Park trails, paddling on the river, engaging in breath work and yoga, or simply sitting quietly to engage in mindful observation. Regardless of the activity, the focus is on intentionality, both in the way that Slaughter and Zajur honor each individual’s needs and the way that they show the students how to slow down and simply notice the way they feel and the beauty and simplicity of nature.
 
Charting a Path
 
Slaughter never envisioned starting a nonprofit when she graduated from the University of Miami and began teaching English in Thailand and leading backcountry retreats in Colorado. Nonetheless, with each activity, she learned more about her passions and where she wanted to direct her energy. After a move back to Richmond in 2020, she met her future husband, Ben Moore, the founder of Waterfront RVA. Time spent working with him further opened Slaughter’s eyes to new avenues to explore, renewing her love for the James River and its unique park system.
 
Everything coalesced in 2021, when Slaughter founded L.O.C.A.L. Adventures. “Everything I had learned that I loved and that supported and healed me came together,” she says. “Mindfulness is the thread that ties it all together. Through yoga and movement practices, creative projects and nature immersion courses, we provide students with the learning ground to develop hobbies that activate their joy center early on, so they can breathe, create, move and learn with ease throughout their life.” 
 
Slaughter and Zajur reconnected when Slaughter moved back to Richmond, and when L.O.C.A.L. Adventures was born, Slaughter knew Zajur would be an ideal partner in the journey. 
 
No stranger to the Richmond nonprofit world, Zajur is the daughter of Michel and Lisa Zajur, founders of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “I am the daughter of an immigrant, and I grew up surrounded by people following their passions and adapting constantly,” she says. “Creativity was an important value in our home, along with doing what you love.” Her sister, Jada Zajur Parrish ’08 is a professional photographer along with her husband, David Parrish ’06, and her brother Austin Zajur ’14 is a professional actor.
 
Following graduation from college, Zajur followed her heart into yoga teacher training as well. She has worked in corporate wellness for several years, starting the company Connect Wellness to bring yoga, mindfulness, and creative practices into the corporate space. “I wear many hats, but at its heart, I specialize in offering creative wellness support to communities, companies, and individuals,” she says. “Creativity tells our story and heals us,” says Zajur, a message she has delivered in countless setting —, from children to CEOs — and as host of the podcast How the Wise One Grows. Zajur is also pursuing her master’s in clinical mental health counseling at William & Mary. She continues making pottery and sharing her ceramic art at local Richmond events and spaces.
 
While Slaughter and Zajur have extended their collaboration well beyond Richmond — even leading transformative creative wellness retreats in places as far away as Costa Rica and Oaxaca, Mexico — it is the RVA community that brings them the greatest creative joy. On any given Sunday from May to October, they offer yoga at the South of the James Farmers Market in Forest Hill Park. “It has developed into a really sweet community gathering centered around accessible outdoor yoga on Richmond’s Southside,” says Slaughter. “The classes are open to all levels, including regular yogis and people simply wandering through the market who may be trying yoga for the very first time.”
 
A Transformative Community
 
Both women credit Trinity with fostering their sense of self, their creativity, and their ability to trust their instincts. “Trinity enabled me to discover the arts and to have the confidence to follow my passion,” says Slaughter. “Trinity helped me imagine a life that is out of the box. Everything about my experience there, from Morning Meeting to theater and music performances, helped me see beyond the traditional approach.”
 
Zajur recalls that high school was a challenging time, but the teachers at Trinity gave her tremendous support. “Teachers designed strategies specifically for me,” she recalls. “Mr. Stratton gave me homework outside in nature because he knew what I needed. The arts at Trinity enhanced my creativity. I am a potter to this day. The support I had at Trinity helped me turn challenge into growth.” 
 
Both women credit the school with showing them the value of community. Says Zajur, “Community is so important because the people in your life shine a light for you and help you find what you need to take control of your life.” Slaughter, too, has seen that value firsthand in her experience with L.O.C.A.L. Adventures. “ L.O.C.A.L. may have started as my idea,” says Slaughter, “but it has become so much larger than me. It truly is a community.”
 
That community has transformed lives in truly inspirational ways. “There is joy in watching kids who are terrified to touch things in nature and two hours later are jumping off of rocks into the river,” says Slaughter. “Or starting the day scared to cross a bridge, then supporting them while they do it. Seeing their confidence grow before your eyes — showing them they can do so much more than they ever thought they could — it’s amazing.” 
 
Zajur loves sharing the discovery of nature, often “a whole new world” for participants. “We are giving them a toolkit,” says Zajur. “And we hope at least one of the tools stays with them and becomes useful throughout their lives.” 
 
Throughout their unique and impactful partnership with L.O.C.A.L. Adventures, Slaughter and Zajur have discovered myriad “paths” that lift and fulfill them. They have learned that there is true joy in spreading that sense of discovery of nature and discovery of self. Best of all, they are working together, doing what they love every day, and showing the kids with whom they work that they, too, can spend each day finding fulfillment in what they love. 
 
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