Hopeless Idealism?

2016 is coming to a close and we at the Charter for Compassion want to express our deepest regards for a peace-filled and joyous celebration of Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa in the coming days. We also want to thank you for the work you have done this past year for putting compassion into action and for supporting the Charter itself. Lastly, we want you to know that we will be with you in 2017-- to take a stand and to work with you. In a recent Charter sponsored call one of our Global Compassion Council members, Chief Phil Lane, Jr., shared his belief that the world is wakening to a global crisis and noting that the choices we make in the next months will help determine our future. Let’s capture our collective energy and start working for positive and heretofore thought unreachable solutions. Let's raise our voices, speak our concerns and find ways to know each other in new ways.

Many of our compassionate cities are planning events in the next months. Watch our Events Calendar to see what is happening in your area. Keep us informed. Below are two significant events that you’ll want to know about and find a way in which to participate.

With much gratitude and appreciation,

Marilyn

 "When all the hospital bombings started, when my [Syrian] friends were telling me more and more stories, when I was watching all those little videos (which most of us just scroll down), I had enough,” said Anna Alboth, a Polish journalist and humanitarian activist living in Berlin, in an email exchange with The Daily Beast. “I imagined myself in it and I was shaking. And then I said it loud: what if all of us from in front of [our] computers would do that? And in the next 24 hours I had an amazing group ready to work.”

The exact details of the plan are still being finalized, but as it currently stands Alboth and those accompanying her will set off from Berlin’s Tempelhofer Feld at 10 a.m. on Dec. 26, heading south to the Czech Republic, then Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. The more than 2,000-mile trek could take as long as six months, the initial phase coinciding with winter’s bitterest cold.

“The aim of the march is that the civilians in Aleppo have access to humanitarian help,” she told The Daily Beast. “Will it be needed that we really reach Aleppo itself? Let’s see [...] we just have one aim, and we would like to, while walking step by step from Berlin, [put] pressure on the decisive people to find the solutions.” [As reported in The Daily Beast]

Hopeless idealism? Sheer insanity? Watch the video. You might not be able to physically participate but you can help.

A Global Moment of Joy and Gratitude

December 25, 2016 And January 1, 2017 at 12-noon, no matter where you are in the world. Be a part of one of the most powerful programs to help create a better future.

Send Love and Healing to a friend who is hurting or a nation whose citizens are hurting such as the people living in the Middle East to help create a more peaceful world. For anywhere there is more Love, there is more Joy and where there is Joy there is more Peace.

Joy in Motion—Taking Action. Think of ways to bring more Joy into your life and into the life of someone else and then go and make it happen. Everyday, look for ways you can bring one new Joy into your life and into the life of another. If you are with family and friends ask them to talk about the Joys and Loves in their life and how they can bring more Joy into their lives and into the lives of others. Spread the Joy! Visit more about the Global Moment of Joy and Gratitude http://www.charterforcompassion.org/global-moment-of-joy

Help to Bring the World Closer

What a wonderful threat this is! You can now listen to music from around the world only providing how close we all can be. No borders on this radio map. From the Pacific sounds of Radio Guam to the Siberian tunes of Radio Sabir, a new interactive 3d map allows you to listen live to thousands of radio stations across the globe.

Radio Garden features radio broadcasts from hundreds of countries around the world. Just click on a marker on this interactive map and you can tune in to local radio stations which provide live internet radio streams. Radio Garden is a great way to explore the sounds of different cultures around the world. It also provides an interesting insight into the broadcasting traditions of different countries.

If you are looking for a little international nostalgia tune into Radiooooo.

A Charter Goal for 2017 Made Possible by Our Members

We make it a point to ask for your help at the end of each of these newsletters. It would be an understatement to say we exist because of your generosity. Why do we keep asking? We received approximately $55,000 this year from memberships. As you can imagine, it is simple, the reason we ask is because we need your help. Can you extend your giving just a little? Ironically if everyone who received this newsletter gave us $5 US we would increase our budget by 200%. We are still just 1.5 people (and many global volunteers), but our work has increased so much—we need at the very least one more dedicated staff person and if we had two or more we would be able to accomplish so much more--do more coordination among compassionate cities, focusing on growing our compassionate schools program and interconnecting the work of our partners with the needs of our membership.  We never are able to come close to responding to all of the requests made.  We would appreciate your anything you can do. Donate here.  

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