Survival of the Kindest
The Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest inspire and engage our communities. Compassion Games International is a separate nonprofit organization (a Partner of the Charter for Compassion, but not a not a program of the Charter). The Games are designed to help, heal and inspire, making our communities a safer, kinder, more just and better place to live. By participating, players are called upon to perform acts of service and kindness in our neighborhoods, on the job, with service-providing agencies, and wherever their daily journey takes them. The acts of service are organized projects or simple acts of kindness to aid a neighbor in need. Although during the annual "co-opetition" we measure and tally the numbers of volunteers, hours of community service, money raised for causes, and the number of people served, no one can lose the Compassion Games.
An Annual Co-opetition from 9/11 - 9/21
While Compassion Games can be played everyday of the year, each year Compassion Games International hosts an annual global "co-opetition" from 9/11 through 9/21. A "co-opetition" is a way of cooperating to compete, not against, but with each other, to bring out the very best in each of our communitities. The root of the word competition is competere which means to strive together. We invite you to organize and participate in the Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest. Here's a short paper to learn more about how we are reframing competition and the power of games.
Creating Collective Impact
While many individuals and organizations have been working in the community for decades to create real opportunities for those traditionally disenfranchised and to bring light to issues of poverty, injustice, and violence, the urgency of our time seems to call for even greater participation and engagement. Whether newly awakened or long engaged, the Compassion Games calls all people from all sectors and all parts of our world to share the vision of justice and compassion and to collaborate to create a connected and caring network of communities working and playing together to create a just and sustainable world.
Together as engaged citizens, we can strengthe what’s already working in our community, and produce a collective impact that is greater than the work any one of our organizations, could have produced individually.
The Compassion Games provides a way to translate the visions and hopes for Compassionate Cities into concrete, real and tangible expressions in the community and co-create a collective impact. We believe that compassionate action – individually and collectively, small scale and large, planned and random – tangibly transforms our world for the better, increases our consciousness and hope for what is possible, and gives us confidence that we can be the change we seek in the world. You are a catalyst for change and your participation can make these games an inspiring success. We are here to help.
What are Compassion Games?
There are no winners or losers in the Compassion Games. Instead, winners multiply the more the games are played. Compassion Games are designed to have social impact, to help us try new things, and build relationships and trust while producing tangible outcomes in communities. Social impact games and activities can help turn apathy into action. Engaging with others can change your heart, change what you value and re-connect you to your community. There is research that backs all this up; look here: www.showmethescience.com
The inspiration and challenge to play the Compassion Games came from the city of Louisville, KY, whose mayor asked his citizens to perform acts of service in that community during a one-week period in April. His goal was 55,000 acts of service. Instead, more than 90,000 acts of service were recorded, and Mayor Greg Fischer proclaimed his city “the most compassionate city in the world.”
Service projects included packaging 33,570 meals for needy children, 9,000 volunteers who picked up litter, 3,200 donated books, and 950 blood donations. “Anybody can do this,” Mayor Fischer said. “It requires no extra money from the city. It’s calling out the goodwill that resides in the people already. So my challenge to my fellow mayors is to take us on. And being a compassionate city, we have to help you beat us, of course, and we’d be delighted to do so.”
Compassionate Seattle, with the support of King County and the Seattle Mayor and Seattle City Council, took up the challenge and has now birthed Compassion Games International a non-profit entity to support communities all over the world. Want to play?
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to know more, we have a Frequently Asked Questions document that you can view. If you want to find out more about how to organize Compassion Games in your community, email Jon Ramer at jon@compassiongames.org or call 01+206 972-7356. Like us on Facebook.
Compassion Games: downloadable flyer
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