Start Something GOOD

The word “Start” stood out in my mind as I sat in a crowded restaurant surrounded by loving friends and family. The room was filled with echoes of dishes clinging and joyful voices while I casually scanned the room.  

I could feel my ears tingling from over hearing a variety of different discussions within ears reach of my table.  People where celebrating the start of new business ventures, or the start of new schools, along with the start of new relationships and even starting over in a new city. Each individual seemed excited and consider the new experiences the “start of something good.”

Suddenly, I felt the burden of frustration hanging on my shoulders. It was if it just appeared out of the air. I couldn’t put my finger on the reason but there my mind just started to drift. There I was sitting in this beautiful Ethiopian restaurant thinking about the current condition of human nature. It seemed as if everyone was so focused on their personal interest that they blocked out the needs of the rest of the world.

I gazed into the eyes of my beautiful wife and instantly time stood still. Immediately, I returned to my normal relaxed and calm state. With a quick inhale and then slow exhale I felt a renewed since of clarity. That moment was only a glimpse into the lives of every person within ears reach.

There was however a profound truth that could not be ignored. Compassion just might be one of the most devalued gifts none too mankind. Hidden beneath the massive pile of misinformation, ideological debates, political propaganda, and entertainment in much of mainstream media news and it’s various platforms there are compelling stories of compassion.

With all of the negative press the youth are getting nowadays it’s nice to get a fresh perspective every once and a while.  There are still people who value compassion greatly and they are using their lives to “start something good.” Listed below are a few articles on young people all over the country sharing their gift of compassion.  

WWW.CLOUD77PRO.COM TM © APril 2013

by Ade

If you are interested in joining the heal the hood movement please email us @ cloudnationmedia@gmail.com 

How Kinyei raised 1.8 times more money on StartSomeGood than on Kickstarter to create employment, opportunity and great coffee in Cambodia

Kinyei are a social enterprise based in Battabang, Cambodia. Comprised of a coffee shop, bike tourism business and employment training, they were originally founded by two Australians and an American but are now in the process of handing over ownership to locals. But to do this they needed additional funding to see them through the transition period and to allow them to upgrade the coffee-making facilities of the café.

Kinyei had previously run a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter but decided for their second go round to work withStartSomeGood due to our unique focus on social impact initiatives. And the metrics proved their decision right. Not only did they attract more donors on StartSomeGood (147 to 116) but the average pledge was 44% higher than during their previous campaign, allowing them to raise over $18,000 to fund this crucial transition period.

The founders had this to say about the next steps: “Our focus for 2013 is to support Kinyei's local management as they launch into their first year of independent operation, and we're excited to see how the projects evolve as they take the reins and really make the projects their own.” – Katherine Hallaran, Melina Chan and Justin Lorenzo, co-founders, Kinyei.

How The Do Good Bus raised $100,000 to take altruistic adventurism on the road

The Do Good Bus raised $100,000 and created impact right across the United States in the name of altruistic adventurism.

The team behind this Los Angeles non-profit had a big vision. They wanted to take their bus on the road with the band Foster The People, visiting 22 cities and involving thousands of young people in active citizenship. They would support local non-profits. They would help with programs for at-risk youth, music education, gardening, and soup kitchens. And they would fill their bus with local do-gooders, again and again, to foster community everywhere they went.

When Rebecca Pontius first made the agreement to go on tour with Foster the People, she and the Do Good Bus team had just over a month to raise their funds. At first, Rebecca thought raising the funds would be a no-brainer. A brilliant idea plus Foster the People's fanbase would equal instant corporate sponsorship. She'd go visit Coke, then cash the cheque.

But as Rebecca discovered, corporate giving can involve huge amounts of delay and red tape, two things her team didn't have time for. Enter StartSomeGood.

While these guys had ambitious targets, their campaign also packed some seriously covetable rewards. But it wasn't just the exclusive Foster the People swag that drew backers. In fact, the most popular reward was having your photo printed on the bus. With an idea this cool, people just wanted to be a part of it.

And like most of our largest successful campaigns, the Do Good Bus remembered to take their efforts offline, combining real world events (in their case, gigs) with social media outreach.

With contributions from 680 backers ranging from $1 to over $10,000 the Do Good Bus reached their goal with just a few hours to spare. And they hit the road.

Inspired? Take some advice from Rebecca. “For me it was very much about taking that first step. A lot of people have big ideas and they kind of put them on a shelf. If you really believe in your idea and have the courage – whether that means putting the blinders on and focusing on the end goal or taking a friend's hand to get you across that line and not giving up - it works, and we're proof of that. Take that firs step.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

Youth Board Member of International Youth Leadership Institute Shares Why She Gives Back

IYLI to Host Opening Doors to the World Fundraiser

By Akira Barclay, Contributor

On May 8, 2013, The International Youth Leadership Institute (IYLI), an organization that prepares African American and Latino secondary school students for leadership roles, will celebrate global understanding during their 24th annual celebration, Opening Doors to the World.  IYLI will honor famed photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. with the Global Citizenship Award and proceeds of the event will support scholarships for New York City high school students traveling and studying in Africa.

A success story of the organization is Jadayah Spencer, who began college at New York University at the age of 16.  The IYLI alumna and board member shared her experience with us and explained why supporting their work is so important.

BGB: What is The International Youth Leadership Institute?

Spencer: IYLI is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 that prepares African American and Latino secondary school students to assume active leadership roles in their communities and global society.  The way we work is that over the course of the school year, fellows attend seminars held at Columbia University on various issues pertinent in society today, ranging everywhere from the AIDS epidemic, to Art and Activism.  These seminars culminate in a trip during the month of July to a country in the African diaspora, which also includes Latin America.  Because we're a college-level program for high school students, they don't just go for vacation or relaxation. While the students are in the host-country, they attend classes at a university there for a week, learning the language of the land, then they proceed to travel throughout the country, visiting government offices, meeting non-governmental organizations, doing community service, conducting ethnographies, and facilitating seminars of their own, all with around ten other young people and their group leaders traveling alongside them.

Because IYLI wants to make the world accessible to all fellows, IYLI heavily subsidizes the cost of travel, such that some fellows are able to have this entire experience for merely $300.   The effect of IYLI on these students is evident in the fact that 98% of IYLI fellows have gone on to attend post-secondary institutions.  IYLI has somehow managed to provide all this for the Fellow, and somehow still serves as a community of love, where any and everyone involved is appreciated and respected as part of the IYLI family.

BGB: What motivates you to give back to IYLI?

Spencer: IYLI is primarily a volunteer run organization, with only one full-time staff member.  I am a volunteer, a member of the Board of Directors, and also an IYLI alumna, having participated in the 2011 Summer Fellowship Program to Tanzania, East Africa.  I loved the experience so much, and I grew as a person exponentially over the course of that month-long trip.  As a result, I was so grateful to IYLI that I resolved to never stop being involved.  No one else but an IYLI fellow gets to experience the world the way IYLI does.  Through the loving family atmosphere within IYLI, along with the environment that requires critical-thinking and analysis (IYLI uses history, culture, geography, and environment as a framework), IYLI Fellows thrive both spiritually and intellectually. I consider it my honor to help in that process.

BGB: How can others support IYLI's great work?

Spencer: Others can support IYLI's work by attending our May 8th event and spreading the word about our indiegogo campaign! We are trying to raise $2 million to help our fellows continue to travel.   Donate and tell your friends about this wonderful opportunity to help the world's next leaders and change-makers.

Tickets for Opening Doors to the World are now on sale. To purchase, visit http://www.iyli.org/benefit.html or contribute to IYLI’s indegogo campaign at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/opening-doors-to-the-world.  Learn more about the organization by visiting the website atiyli.org. 

Imagine a better America

One cannot deny the amazing rights, privillages, and opportunities that are afforded to American citizens. Unfortunately, inequality is still a major issue in America. Imagine an America where every citizens is treated equally. Imagine an America where every child is afforded a high quality education. Imagine an America where every state and neighborhood is full of resources and economic stability. This kind of America can only exist if we the people do our part.

Every human being desires the highest quality of life. Every human being desires financial stability, safety and security, quality education, quality healthcare, and equal opportunity. Everyday we witness a culture that values money and material assets far above people. In fact many times it appears as if people are a burden or liability instead of an asset.

Human capital is undervalued by many but understood by corporations and governments. Many of today’s American citizens undervalue their own selfworth and don’t understand how valuable they truly are. We must recognize our gifts and celebrate the accomplishments of others consistently. By investing in people and helping each other we can be the change we desire. There has never been a better time to mobilize than now.  There are great communities all over America that are often overlooked.

These hidden jewels are unfairly demonized by mainstream media and often forgotten by political officials. There is a movement of hope spreading like wildfire in America and people are mobilizing all across the nation. Remember no story is too small, no person is worthless, and everybody gets to play. You might just be the solution to somebodies problem or an answer to somebodies prayer.

Find a place in your community to volunteer and start positively impacting the world today. If we all become world changers individually we will reap the benefits collectively. Let love and compassion for all people drive you daily. You can turn your negative moments to promising opportunities. The unemployed individual who feels down on their luck, can be a valuable presence and great asset as a volunteer at a local community group or school.

The retired educator of professional can volunteer also and provide a special area of expertise for a community group or organization. Business owners and working professionals can provide training for youth and adults who lack marketable skills. There are plenty opportunities for us to help people daily by visiting sick and lonely elders, mentoring young people, teaching your special skill to others, cleaning up vacant lots, helping a neighbor, encouraging a stranger, creating job opportunities for unemployed people, and tutoring students just to name a few.

If we live selflessly and compassionately instead of selfishly imagine what America could become. There are people all across the nation holding onto this hope and working towards making it happen everyday. Hopefully this will inspire others to join the movement. Let’s make the dream a reality.   

WWW.CLOUD77PRO.COM TM © May 2012

by Ade

If you are interested in joining the heal the hood movement please email us @ cloudnationmedia@gmail.com or healthehoodblog@gmail.com. 

 

You have not because you ACT not!

May 16, 2012

With countless needs and constant questions lingering regarding underdeveloped communities society has failed to ask the tough questions. 1) Why are some communities struggling and others flourishing?   (2) If the world is tired of the same results why do they continue to use the same methods? 3) Last but not least why aren’t communities gathering to come up with their own solutions?

Human Capital is one of the most valuable resources along with time. What amazes me is that most of today’s society doesn’t have a clue about true value. Some say true value is power, religion, politics, money, and material riches. Human capital is an age old resource that many have forgotten. Kingdoms have been won and conquered using human capital. Countries have been built and developed on human capital. In fact the wealthiest and most prosperous corporations rely on human capital to stay afloat.

Currency loses value but human capital is priceless. Every human being was created with great potential. Every human being has the ability to positively impact the world with their gifts, life experiences, and time. We never know how our presence and stories can help other people until we make ourselves available. There are people in this world who are relying on us to put our witty ideas and inventions into action. 

Unfortunately many of us are too busy seeking selfish ambitions to care about others.

When we fail to help others we fail to help ourselves. The gift in giving and serving others is a reward in itself. Recently, I discovered an amazing young lady by the name of Ay-Sha Butler doing amazing things in the Greater Englewood community.  As president and a founding member of R.A.G.E  Aysha along with her team are truly making a difference in their community.

This is a perfect example of concerned residents who have decided to be the change they desire. By working together, planning, strategizing, sharing ideas, and implementing those ideas R.A.G.E is starting to be recognized as a catalyst for positive social change. They understand the power of mobilizing people and utilizing human capital to impact the community. Read the article below to learn more about how you can get involved with the R.A.G.E organization.

WWW.CLOUD77PRO.COM  TM    © May 2012

by Ade

If you are interested in joining the heal the hood movement please email us @ cloudnationmedia@gmail.com or healthehoodblog@gmail.com.  

The Mission

The mission of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood is to mobilize people and resources to force a change in the community by breaking down barriers in communication and promoting positivity through solution-based approaches.

Background

Residents in Englewood feel enraged:  We are upset about the ways our community is portrayed in the media and we are frustrated with the current conditions of our neighborhood, despite the abundant presence of churches, non-profits, and social service agencies.  In late 2010, several residents living in Greater Englewood decided to take matters into their own hands.  Through their fellowship, R.A.G.E. was soon created.

The Resident Association of Greater Englewood represents new leadership within the community.  This resident-funded and resident-led association consists of members who reside in all 6 wards of the Greater Englewood area.  R.A.G.E. members are homeowners, stakeholders, business owners, professionals, students, parents and grandparents fighting against the stereotypes that often stigmatize Englewood.

RAGE members (L to R): Phil Sipka, Asiaha Butler, Eric Wallace, Lindsay Coleman, Corrinn Cobb

Although R.A.G.E. seeks to holistically empower the community, there are currently several areas and issues that R.A.G.E. seeks to address.  With the recent release of the 2010 Census data, R.A.G.E. has been at the forefront of the redistricting process – working to help re-draw the boundaries of Greater Englewood and pushing for at least one ward office in the neighborhood.

At the beginning of the year, R.A.G.E. hosted three aldermanic candidate forums for the six wards in the election (Wards 3, 6, 15, 16, 17, and 20) in Englewood. The forums were created to give residents the opportunity to learn more about the candidates, who in-turn were able to share what their goals are for Englewood.

Residents listen intently to aldermanic candidates at Part II of the "Who's Running?" Summit series.

When R.A.G.E. is not hosting forums, attending community events, or just simply being regular-everyday folk – they meet monthly to discuss current events in the community, share information,  fellowship, and seek concrete plans and actions steps to ensure that R.A.G.E. is always working towards a tangible goal that benefits Greater Englewood.  R.A.G.E. is action-driven, goal-oriented, and dedicated to representing the good in Englewood.

R.A.G.E.‘s presence in the community and the media has rapidly grown.  R.A.G.E. members have made appearances on The Sanita Jackson Show on WVON 1690 AM, The Munir Muhammad Show on CAN-TV Channel 25, and First Business Chicago on WCIU.

Check out R.A.G.E.’s very own, Asiaha Butler, as she discusses the vast array of assets and resources in Englewood 

Cultivating A Community That Work’s

     April 28, 2012       

 1.)    Cultivate: To nurture; foster. Socially polished; Refined. 

The way we live and treat one another is improving in communities where compassion for others is being revived.  There are many stories around the world of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help their communities.  The examples modeled by people everyday provide answers and solutions to many of today’s problems.

One of the biggest challenges that we face today as a society is our unwillingness to be the difference the world needs. It is much easier to complain and wine instead. I believe that we all posses the ability to be difference makers and world changers. Unfortunately many of us are just not interested in taking the necessary steps to improve the conditions of others.

History continues to repeat itself and we continue to overlook the solutions to today’s problems. If only we’d follow the remnants and threads of productivity both old and new, we would rediscover practical solutions. Going forward I am extremely hopeful and excited about the amazing possibilities of today and tomorrow.

I have taken the liberty of providing a few articles on positive people doing positive things. I believe that we have to be reminded of what we are capable of from time to time.    

If you are interested in joining the heal the hood movement please email us @ cloudnationmedia@gmail.com or healthehoodblog@gmail.com.  

WWW.CLOUD77PRO.COM  TM    ©April 2012

by Ade

No more food deserts. The drought is over!

You might be wondering what, exactly, is a food desert. Well, in the city of Chicago, it’s a pretty big problem. A problem in which entire communities have severely limited access to fresh fruits and veggies, and therefore suffer from significant health issues related to poor diets.

After reading a 2006 report that mapped food deserts in Chicago, a group of community activists banded together to work on a solution.  Steven Casey and Jeff Pinzino were soon joined by Sheelah Muhammad.  The three of them brought together the combination of skills and talents that helped make Fresh Moves a reality.

But this was not an easy problem to solve. The simple fact was that opening a traditional market wouldn’t address the multi-neighborhood needs quickly or efficiently.  National chains have difficulty finding large parcels of affordable urban land to support their high costs of operation.  Independents can’t gamble on unproven locations, and ethnic markets are slow to grow.  So despite high profit margins for fresh foods and substantial unmet demand, Food Desert Action had to think outside the big box.

The answer? Put the whole thing on wheels! So Food Desert Action sprang into, well, ACTION. They were able to secure a bus, donated from the CTA. They partnered with Architecture for Humanity to transform the bus into a mobile produce market. They worked with volunteers at EPIC to put together this website. And now, they’re working hard to bring the Lawndale community fresh, delicious, nutritious produce – and educating the public at large about how fun it can be to eat healthily.

Want to get involved or learn more? Contact the FOOD DESERT ACTION team directly – fooddesertaction@gmail.com.

Fresh Moves Mobile Grocery Store An Innovative Solution To Food Deserts (PHOTOS)

In a move that exemplified Rahm Emanuel's approach to Chicago's most intractable problems, the city's new mayor sat down on Wednesday with the leaders of six major grocery-store chains to address the crisis of the city's so-called "food deserts."

For hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans, the nearest fresh fruits and vegetables are a mile or more away. This leaves residents stuck either taking long rides on public transportation and bringing back only what they can carry, or eating the processed and packaged foods available at the corner store.

Food deserts, areas that are distant from the nearest fresh foods, are a serious public health crisis, causing a marked uptick in diet-related illness like diabetes, obesity and cancer. Minorities and lower-income Chicagoans are far more likely to live in food deserts, which are almost entirely on the city's South Side.

Emanuel's "Food Desert Summit" sought to entice major grocery chains to invest in new stores in food deserts. But a small group of devoted activists have been working on the problem from the opposite direction.

A few years ago, Steven Casey, Jeff Pinzino and Sheelah Muhammad hatched the idea for the Fresh Moves bus, a mobile grocery store that would bring fresh groceries directly to the communities that needed them most.

(Scroll down to look inside the bus.)

"We talked to a couple of grocers, and realized that bricks and mortar wasn't the quickest solution, that the barriers to entry were too great," said Muhammad, now the board secretary at Fresh Moves, in a phone interview with Huffington Post Chicago. "We wanted a solution that was more flexible, that met the needs of more residents in more communities."

The group was helped by a few key partners. The Chicago Transit Authority donated a bus for them to use, Architecture for Humanity helped transform the bus into a grocery store, and EPIC helped build their website.

On May 23, the bus began running routes in Lawndale and Austin, making three stops a day, two days a week. And the demand has been overwhelming: in its first five days, project manager Dara Cooper told HuffPost the bus served over 600 customers.

"The first day, it was pouring raining, and we sold out of organic collard greens the first hour," Cooper said. "We sold out of mangoes, cherry tomatoes, it was amazing."

Fresh Moves gives the produce it doesn't sell to homeless shelters. But so far, that hasn't been much. While much of their food is locally sourced and organic, they are also very focused on affordability. "When you talk about access [to fresh food], part of it is geographic," Cooper said, "but a big part of it is monetary, too."

Goodness Greeness, an organic food supplier, offers Fresh Moves a discount, and they're able to keep prices low across the board. "I'm always so excited when people get to the cash register and they realize they can grab something else and put it in the bag," Sheelah Muhammad said.

The most important lesson for both Muhammad and Cooper, though, was debunking the myth that low-income people didn't want fruits and vegetables, that they preferred fast food and junk food.

"We're proving that unfounded theory wrong," Muhammad said. "There's a huge demand for this. They're tired of the fast food, they're tired of the lack of options."

As Fresh Moves looks to expand its bus service to new routes and new neighborhoods, more and more people in Chicago's food deserts could have another option rolling down their streets before long.

Take a look inside the Fresh Moves bus:

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/07/175885.html

School on a bus brings classes to Indian slums

Monday, 07 November 2011

A school-on-wheels in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad is the only chance for children living in slums to have an education. (Reuters)

inShare

By KRISHNENDU HALDER 
REUTERS HYDERABAD

On a hot afternoon, a bright orange bus drives into a slum area of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, parking amidst shelters made of tarpaulins and bits of wood. Barefoot children come running, eyes shining, and troop inside.

It’s a school on wheels that brings education to the doorstep of disadvantaged children such as these every day, halting for several hours at a time in different parts of the sprawling city.

The children, whose parents are day laborers on construction sites, or work as rag pickers and maids, either never go to school or drop out once enrolled. Many have to work as hard as their parents to pay off family debts.

“These children have no time to go to school, unless the school comes to them,” said T.L. Reddy, founder of the CLAP Foundation, a non-governmental organization that runs the mobile school.

“At first we prepared a temporary tent in their slum to give basic education for the children. Then slowly we developed the concept of a school inside a vehicle to attract more.”

Reddy, a teacher for 25 years, first thought of doing something for the children when they caught his attention a decade ago. After gathering donations and setting up the tent first, they began operating the bus three years ago.

The inside of the bus is bright and clean, its walls festooned with the alphabet, numbers and pictures of fruit and animals. Children perch on seats around the inside of the bus, writing on slates they hold on their laps.

Some days, the bus is so full that children sit cross-legged on the floor as a sari-clad teacher talks to them.

“The teaching is good in this bus and nobody beats us,” said 10-year-old Devi, who enrolled in the first grade of primary school three years ago but soon dropped out.

She attends school in between helping her father collect rags, and hopes to be a teacher.

Manjula, another 10-year-old girl, bubbles with excitement about her studies and wants to be a doctor to bring medical care to slum children such as herself.

“Now I can read and write from 1 to 200 numbers,” she said.

The goal, Reddy said, is to teach the children enough for them to be mainstreamed into government schools. So far, some 40 children have done so despite the considerable odds.

“The greatest hurdles are things ranging from the erratic schedule of the students, and the varied mindset of their families,” he added.

But the school’s greatest achievement may be something far more simple.

“This is the only chance they get to be kids, even if it is for only two hours,” Reddy said.

http://positivenews.org.uk/2012/wellbeing/spirit/6188/charter-compassion-gains-support-charter-compassion-gains-support/#comment-64268

Charter for compassion gains support

GLOBAL / PEACE & DEMOCRACY

27 MAR 2012

More than 85,000 individuals, organisations and cities have now signed up to endorse the Charter for Compassion, a document that aims to inspire compassionate action around the world

Karen Armstrong speaking at TEDGlobal 2009 in Oxford     Photo © TED / James Duncan Davidson

Claiming to embody a principle that is at the heart of all religious, ethical, and spiritual traditions, the Charter for Compassion calls us to always treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves.

The document states: “Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity,” adding that it is a necessary resource in creating “a just economy and a peaceful global community.”

Recent signatories include the Canadian city of London, Ontario, which has a population of 350,000 and is the first official Compassionate City in Canada and also includes the first school to formally endorse the charter. Meanwhile, Spalding University in Louisville, US, is the first university in the world to be designated a Compassionate University.

Internationally, there are over 70 cities and regions working towards official adoption of the Compassionate City status, from New Delhi in India to Nottingham in the UK. Governing bodies in each city will work with citizens to develop means of cooperation and empowerment.

The charter calls for empathy with the suffering of all human beings – even those regarded as enemies – as well as for accurate information to be given to young people in order to encourage a “positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity.”

Physical and spoken acts of violence, as well as the exploitation or denial of people’s basic rights, are condemned in the document as it urges us to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion. Any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate, it states.

“One of the chief tasks of our time must surely be to build a global community in which all peoples can live together in mutual respect,” explains the founder of the charter, Dr Karen Armstrong, in her book Twelve Steps to A Compassionate Life, published in 2011. “Yet religion,” she continues, “which should be making a major contribution, is seen as part of the problem. All faiths insist that compassion is the test of true spirituality and that it brings us into relation with the transcendence we call God, Brahman, Nirvana or Dao.”

In her book, Karen looks at religious history alongside neuroscience and finds that our brains have evolved for us to be caring and to need care. By investigating our enemies, knowing their history and participating in dialogue, we can stop the vicious cycles of attack and counterattack, Karen believes.

“We need to create a world democracy in which everybody’s aspirations are taken seriously,” she says. “In the last resort, this kind of ‘love’ and ‘concern for everybody’ will serve our best interests better than short sighted policies.”

A former nun, acclaimed theologian, historian and author, Karen received a TED Award (Technology, Entertainment and Design) in 2008, which enabled her to create the charter. As well as the $100,000 prize, Karen was also granted a ‘wish for a better world’, which TED would help her fulfil.

“I asked TED to help me create, launch and propagate a Charter for Compassion that would be written by leading thinkers from a variety of major faiths and would restore compassion to the heart of religious and moral life,” explains Karen.

Members of the public – of any or of no faith – were invited to help shape to the charter. Through the project’s website, more than 150,000 people from 180 countries were involved in submitting and commenting upon contributions. Drawing on this input, an interfaith group of religious leaders then crafted the final charter.

More Information:

www.charterforcompassion.org

www.compassionatecities.org

Category: Peace, Spirit
Tags: Charter, compassion, peace, TED
Location: Global
Author: Virginia Kennedy