Growing Our Base
N E W S
Rotterdam becomes the 76th City to Affirm the Charter
On May 20, 2016, Mayor Aboutaleb affirmed the Charter for Compassion on behalf of the citizens of of Rotterdam, Netherlands. In his speech he emphasized the importance of ‘soft powers’ in society today. "All the threats and confrontations with violence and terror should never make us forget how important it is to keep seeing others as human beings. In a video message that Karen Armstrong made especially for Rotterdam, she once more accentuated that the West should pay more attention to civilian casualties in far away wars (Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan) to make clear that all lives are equally valuable. Read more.
Two New Compassionate Universities Affirm the Charter
The University of Pittsburgh-Bradford and the second oldest college in the United States, William and Mary, located in Williamsburg, VA, affirm the Charter. On April 19, President Taylor Reveley signed the Charter for Compassionate Schools on behalf of William & Mary. A brief ceremony was held April 27 to formally announce the signing. The University of Pittsburgh in Bradford unveiled the Charter in a ceremony on April 13.
N E W P A R T N E R O P P O R T U N I T I E S
Open Trial
Injustice blights the lives of billions, often crippling the lives of the poor generation after generation, so that even today one in nine people around the world go to bed hungry every night. Would you like to make your compassion count by helping to ensure 4 billion people on this planet no longer live without the protection of the law; 4.2 to 11.6 million people are no longer held in forced prostitution; 30 to 40% of women in developing countries are no longer raped; 22 million people are no longer held in slavery; 3 billion people no longer live without secure rights to their land such that 5 million people are evicted yearly, with many more running off out of fear of violence; that no longer are 50 to 97% of prisoners in the developing world unlawfully incarcerated pre-trial detainees, many suffering abuse and torture, with some 10,000 dying each month, etc.? If this is something that interests you, then you may like to be part of a working group being guided by Frank Richardson of OpenTrial. Contact Frank if you would like to know more.
Tilly's Life Center
“Tilly’s Life Center (TLC) is an empowerment program for teens helping to change attitude and mindset in order to overcome adversity and ultimately find happiness and success.” At TLC, the aim is to empower teens to overcome their own adversity and crisis through positive thinking. Through tested methodologies from globally-respected thought leaders, TLC teaches effective life tools that enable teens the confidence and self esteem they need to take responsibility for themselves – ultimately giving them the power to make positive changes in their own lives. At TLC, the belief is if you “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day/teach a man to fish, he’ll eat forever” philosophy.
TLC programs teach life skills that build confidence, inspire compassion, encourage teens to pursue their dreams and cover topics like: Forgiving and Giving, Overcoming Fears, Transitioning from being Dependent on Hospital Care, Body-Image, Drugs and Alcohol, Bullying, Stress, Motivation and Purpose, Kindness, Happiness, etc. The classes are not lectures. Each lesson is taught through journal writing and also includes an activity to facilitate understanding through experiential learning and self-discovery.
The “I Am Me” program consists of 3 Phases of 12 classes each and we are currently piloting 3 additional Phases. The "I Am Healthy" program is a combination of Phase 1 & 2 from "I Am Me" with an emphasis on health. The TLC goal is to be a required curriculum in high schools across the nation.
Internatioinal Research Centre for Communication in Healthcare (IRRCH)
Join IRRCH for its 4th International Symposium on Healthcare Communication, Monday 27th June in Lugano Switzerland. The International Symposium and Roundtable on Healthcare Communication (ISRHC) is a biennial event for international experts in healthcare communication to share research, knowledge and ideas of best practice. Previous ISRHC events have proven to be extremely successful in not only strengthening and extending the IRCCH international network, but also in facilitating crossdisciplinary, multiinstitutional and international collaboration. This year's theme is Communicating for Patient Safety: Translating Research into Practice. Learn more about the Symposium and registration.
H E L P U S O P E N T H E M A R K E T P L A C E
We need a volunteer to help the Charter open our Marketplace. It means helping set up the store, communicate with our partner vendors, help set up the database and be a go-between partners, goods and services and the Charter. If you are interested, please contact us.
A R E Y O U U P F O R A G A T H E R I N G ?
Help us help the Charter. Invite some friends, colleagues and neighbors into your home or community center and introduce the Charter to them. We have a video with voice over to help you, a script if you would prefer that, and some small give aways. We call these gatherings Charter Salons and in addition to introducing the Charter to new audiences we would like for them to support our work. We are hoping to have at least fifty gathering around the world in 2016. Would you please help? As you know we are a very small operation and the only way forward is with your help. Contact Reed Price so he can help walk you through a Charter Salon. If you can’t do this, would you consider a donation. We’ve made $1650 this month from our membership. Our goal is $5000. If you can, please donate.
