The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. ~Maya Angelou

The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. ~Maya Angelou

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	"The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. ~Maya Angelou" by Marilyn Turkovich

	It comes around once a year, and as a holiday, Valentine's Day allows us to focus on people we care about and elevate them to a special place of recognition. Here is the basic truth when it comes to the Charter for Compassion, each of you is the Charter. Every one of the 170,000+ names we have in our database is unique and very special because you keep us going. Of course, we should be offering special thanks to the community who give us contributions. Indeed, we are grateful to you, especially those of you who faithfully send us $3 or $5 each month. We realize this is a true sacrifice, as well as to those of you who give more. However, we are thankful to those who send us messages of concern about topics we address in our blogs or those who alert us to broken links on our website. These acts of kindness show us that you are there, engaging, and helping as we go forward. Just like many of us who don't keep in touch with people we love as often as we would like, we are grateful. Happy Valentine's day! On Valentine's Day, we are surrounded by hearts, big and small, red, green, and peppermint, but those hearts symbolize the essence of love. There are mornings when I wake up and ask myself, is the Charter for Compassion spread too thin? Has it taken on more than it can deliver? I realize we are global, and I wonder if our messages are being reached worldwide. What difference will our Compassion Tree Project make in a world in the wake of environmental disaster? Can we convince our Charter family to see the importance of addressing a world free of nuclear weapons? Or will the programs we promote for children and youth really make a difference in the future? These are questions of the heart that drive our ambitions for reaching the stars. The illustration accompanying this blog by Richard Stine is our Valentine's card to you. It isn't the usual pink or red-bordered heart, but instead, it speaks to the yearning in each of our hearts for something more. More love, more peace, more equality, more possibilities, more justice. Your presence is the present that you offer to us each day. We are grateful to you for your involvement in working at any level to bring compassionate action to the world. Where would we be without it? With warm regards, Marilyn Turkovich

Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning is an innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University. SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves. This introductory program is free and will be followed by a Train-the-trainer program which will start in November 2023 and continue through May 2024. Participating in this program will lead to a certificate. Learn more and register for all 5 sessions here. Click on the banner to register and join the many offerings from our Partners during these 40+ days honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This upcoming week: February 4 - Interfaith Feast February 7-8 - Unity Earth Symposium February 9 - Watch Dr. Cornell West at the Annual MLK Council event that happened on January 14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas February 10 - Values, Culture, and Spirituality: Ecosystems Restoration February 11 - Loving Communities
Charter for Compassion News, Programs, and Webinars Charter Education Institute *Dealing with Anxiety with Rick Hanson, PhD* This 5-week Course begins February 13 Learn more and register here Anxiety, fear, and worry are normal reactions, but they don’t have to be your constant companions. Through this course, Dr Rick Hanson, New York Times’ bestselling author and psychologist, will take you through powerful practices for managing stress and worries. You will let go of anxiety and grow a greater sense of calm, strength, and being protected and supported by other people and more able to deal with threatening situations around you. Global Read *Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power (Revised Edition) with Chris Johnstone* (Joanna Macy won't be joining us for this Global Read, we send our best wishes for her full return to good health!) Wednesday, February 8 at 9 am PST / 6.00 pm CET Check other timezones here Learn more and register here. (You may register to get recording after event) The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, war, political polarization, economic upheaval, and the dying back of nature together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. This revised, tenth-anniversary edition of Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face these crises so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, (WTR) the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society. World Interfaith Harmony Week You can still enjoy our 7-day journey through the Chakras as we celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week 2023, Feb 1-7, 9 am PST daily! EdNet Forum World Savvy with Molly Dengler Thursday, February 16 at 7.30 am PST / 4.30 pm CET / 9 pm IST Learn more and register here World Savvy works to empower educators to make schools inclusive, relevant, and engaging for all students, inspiring them to learn, work, and thrive as responsible global citizens. For 20 years World Savvy has been the leader in global education. The Charter's LGBTQIA+ Initiative is launching its first global virtual festival! This Festival goes from March 11-18 Learn more, submit your video, or purchase a ticket here OUR PRIDE Video & Arts Fest is a virtual film festival with its own unique festival village, complete with original programming, panels, director Q&A’s, workshops, and live networking, sponsored and hosted by FILMOCRACY. We are currently open for Submissions until March 1, 2023 Video Genres: Short Documentary, Narrative, Music Video, Animation, PSA & News Story Video submissions must be 15 minutes or shorter Accepting submissions from people ages 13-35 English subtitles are required for non-English submissions There are no costs involved with submitting your video. Use FilmFreeway Promo Code: PRIDE2023 2023 THEME is "LOVE WINS! Compassion, Resilience & Solidarity," with entries highlighting compassion, resilience, and solidarity in the global LGBTQIA+ community, featuring such topics as Social Justice, Human Rights, Current Issues, Mental Health, Personal Stories, Local Pride, LGBTQIA+ Community & History, and more. Submissions are judged by youth peers, educators, and LGBTQ+ professionals. Winning entries will be announced in March 2023 with screenings throughout the year, including the International Children’s Film Festival at Comic-Con in San Diego. The top video entries will receive a variety of awards, prizes, and commendations. On the Blog 40K for 40 Days: Day 17 - Forgiving not Forgetting Click/Tap here to read more We are excited to introduce you to our "40K for 40 Days" blog series during our Martin Luther King 40 days of Peace Campaign on the Charter's blog and through social media. Shane O'Connor, our newest staff member, has decided to bike 40 km a day during these 40 days. While on his daily ride, he'll be directing his thoughts toward Martin Luther King...Continue reading Day 1 here Read Day 5 / Read Day 10 /Read Day 15 Donate to help Uvalde, Texas, USA Our Compassionate Cities in the state of Texas are issuing a call for donations to support the Uvalde Love Project. All donations go to the project. They are trying to reach and surpass a goal of $5,000.00. Please help them reach that goal! Learn more and donate here
From our Partners The Community of Mindful Parenting aspires to empower families to become more mindful and compassionate. They are a multigenerational, multicultural, and fully inclusive community that strives to nurture powerful relationships between parents/caregivers and their children. Their Listening Mothers™ and Finding Calm classes explore the relationship between caregiver and child through a lens of self-compassion. Their weekly Communi-Teas are a centering tool for meditation. Learn more here. Feast for the Soul 2023 The backbone of the Charter's 40-Days of Peace commemoration will be the Feast of the Soul, a worldwide spiritual practice intensive, one that aims to co-create more love and peace within. A Charter for Compassion partner, the Feast for the Soul promotes self-discovery, mindfulness, meditation, and creative practices. You can think of it as a virtual retreat whereby you commit to 40 days of spiritual practice. Learn more and Register here! ProSocial World, a Charter partner, is offering an interactive learning experience called Leading ProSocial. It's being put on by our friends at Prosocial World, and it's starting on February 21st, 2023. It's a six-month program, with 12 workshops, where you and the groups you're a part of can learn how to work together better and be more successful in everything you do. Leading ProSocial is all about finding ways to help different groups work together to make good things happen. It's about making sure everyone is working towards the same goal and that everyone is motivated to do their best. This is a space to explore how ProSocial works in real life and do some hands-on learning and learning together. If you're looking for a chance to be a powerful leader in your group and make a positive difference, this may be the perfect opportunity for you! Check out their website to find out more and sign up! Upcoming Special Guests: Thursday, February 9 - Sue Cooper with Feast for the Soul. Thursday, February 16 - Ole Kjörrefjord with the Map of Co-Creators. Thursday, February 23 - John Boswell with LGBTQ+ Film Fest.


PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARTER The Charter for Compassion has a bold, audacious vision of co-creating a world that works for everyone. Please support the Charter with a monthly contribution that helps to build this global compassionate community - person by person, school by school, and city by city. Thank you!




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