On Wednesday, July 27th, a kick-off celebration and networking event took place at the World Trade Center Seattle. Twenty-two non-profits, including the American Cancer Society, Goodwill, and Plymouth Housing, shared their missions with civic and business leaders and invited them to participate in the service opportunities they plan to host during the Global Unity Games. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray officially proclaimed July 27, 2016 as Compassion Day Seattle, kicking off the celebration. The...
[cat_desc]
Is Texas Becoming the Most Compassionate Place on Earth?
Even though Texas is the second largest state in the union when it comes to size and population, it appearsthat it won't be second when it comes to compassionate action. Look at what's happening in the Lone Star State! On April 14th 2016, the Mayor and City Council members of Austin, Texas’ state capital, voted to join with San Antonio, Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth in becoming a "self designated" compassionate city: Compassionate Austin. There are now over 350 cities around the world that...
Ms. Lia Mandelbaum and a Compassionate Uprising
One of the great joys of organizing the Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest is meeting remarkable people who take the Games and do truly amazing things. It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Lia Mandelbaum, a writer for the Jewish Journal and a resounding Champion of Compassion. The following interview with Lia is organized into short segments highlighting some of the incredible things she was able to accomplish with the Games. (The complete interview is available at the bottom...
Love Remembers Day Coopetition – Compassion For Anaphylaxis
Worldwide “Love Remembers Day” is hosting a Compassion Games Coopetition from March 19th - 27th to honor lives lost to Food Induced Anaphylaxis. Flowers for Anaphylaxis, a volunteer grassroots organization that offers condolences to families that have lost loved ones due to food-induced anaphylaxis, is organizing the third annual worldwide Love Remembers Day from March 19 - 27, 2016. Aleasa Word, CLC, CEC, founder of the program, and an advocate and educator in the food-allergy community,...
Being Human Ain’t Easy: Unexpected Lessons from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa
We surely can’t complain about the mystery and thrill of being alive. Yet, regardless of one’s walk of life, it just isn’t easy being human. Like the tilted spinning of the Earth traveling through the Milky Way, having balance in one moment does not necessarily mean we will have it in the next. Life is messy. We are each challenged by the struggles of maintaining harmony in our relationships, by the incessant demand of finances and making a living, and of nurturing the physical and mental...
The Power of Love and Compassion to Stop the Violence and Start the Healing
Baltimore’s riots this week have highlighted the growing unrest and injustices across America. Many are being forced to rethink assumptions we've made about race, power, civility, and compassion. We seem to have forgotten concepts like fairness and justice as a nation. Without this moral compass to guide us, what’s left? As video after video surfaces of young black males being brutally treated by police, it makes us wonder if racial discrimination and police brutality can now be tolerated in...
Mayors as Leaders in the Compassion Movement
As citizens, we understand the power of public policy and the choices that a Mayor can make. We know that budgets are moral documents that reflect the values of our community and are then carried out by our elected officials. We also know that now is a tough time to hold public office with so many fellow citizens distrusting the government and the political process. Therefore, we think it is particularly meaningful to recognize outstanding leaders who are committed to integrating compassion...
Players of Earth Week & Compassion as the Path to Justice and the American Dream
As we're getting ready for the inaugural Love This Place! Serve the Earth Week coopetition, from April 18 through April 26, we are excited to introduce some of the “players” that will be participating. This is an extremely diverse group including teams from Portugal, Peru, United Kingdom, Italy, and cities in the United States and Canada including Detroit, Michigan, Syracuse, New York and Seattle, Washington. Interfaith Works is the team in Syracuse, New York that participated in the February...
Love The Hell Out of Metro Detroit: From the Blame-Shame Game to the Compassion Games
In the early sixties, in the thick of the Civil Rights movement, at the Voters Rights office in Alabama, Andrew Young was about to step outside into the parking lot to meet members of the Ku Klux Klan. Mr. Young, appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to head the voters rights effort, and has since gone on to become Mayor of Atlanta, US Congressman, and Ambassador to the United Nations, received a call thatthe KKK were coming and that he might want to carry a gun. As he headed out the door...
Solving Wicked Problems with the Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest
(Header Image: "New Pioneers" from Mark Hensen) At a time when religiously motivated violence seems to be more horrific and terrifying than ever, what would it take to transition our world to one of interfaith harmony and peace? It may seem pollyanna to wonder and idealistic to even ask if such a thing is possible. In a world permeated with intolerance and acts of hatred in the name of religion, how could we come to be in peace and harmony with one another? What would that take? A 21st century...