Children's Charter for Compassion

Children's Charter for Compassion
Toronto, ON
ph: 1-647-242-1327
info@thechildrenscharterforcompassion.com

Media

"We are thrilled to witness the creative ways in which individuals and organizations are interpreting the Charter for Compassion. We are grateful to Erin Henry and our other partners for their new ideas, activities, and initiatives that take concrete steps toward fulfilling the ideals of the Charter. Through her dedicated work with children, Erin is contributing to the growing movement to activate the golden rule around the world."

- Pamela Kilborn-Miller, Charter for Compassion Project Manager

CHECK THIS OUT!

http://mississaugalife.ca/2011/05/live-life-brilliantly/

http://www.remonline.com/realtor-teaches-compassion-positive-energy/

FIRST COMPASSIONATE SCHOOL IN THE WORLD!

P R E S S R E L E A S E
May 16, 2011
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
University Heights Public School - 27 Ford Crescent, London, Ontario N6G 1H8

Jannet Ann Nordemann, founder of Canadians For Compassion, Richard Hoffman, Public Affairs Director for the Thames Valley District School Board and Carol Edy, Principal of University Heights Public School invites media to attend, report and record this historic event as University Heights Public School is recognized as the first “Compassionate School” in Canada, as well as the rest of the world. University Heights Public School has a truly diverse school population of 250 students, from Kindergarten to Grade six, representing many of the world’s faith traditions and societies.

WHAT IS A “COMPASSIONATE SCHOOL”

At the 2009 Peace Summit in Vancouver, His Holiness The Dalai Lama stated that if we were going to build a more compassionate society, we had to start with young people – teaching and integrating compassion-based learning into the earliest stages of education. Taking this lead, Canadians For Compassion committed to work with Erin Henry, creator of the Children’s Charter for Compassion, for the purpose of bringing the Children’s Charter, along with work books and associated curriculum into Canadian schools. A “Compassionate School” is a school that, with the approval of its school board, commits to integrating the Children’s Charter for Compassion into existing character development curriculum – and to live its principles with on-going projects and programs whereby students demonstrate they are compassionate as between themselves, with their teachers, and both within the school community and throughout the larger community.

WHAT DOES THE CHILDREN’S CHARTER FOR COMPASSION SAY?

Compassion means to feel what others are feeling – especially when they are feeling pain or sadness.
Compassion is inside of all of us. It doesn’t matter if you are a girl or a boy, how old you are, what country you live in, where or if you worship, or the colour of your skin. We can all show compassion for others. When we act with compassion, we treat others as we wish to be treated. We show kindness. We show understanding. We try to make others feel better. We put others before ourselves.
If we want the world to be a caring, respectful, and happy place to live, we must all practice compassion. Who are those others? Family, friends, classmates, teachers, neighbours, teammates, coaches, and even those we do not like or see as our enemies. We must also treat ourselves with love, kindness, and respect. When we are happy, we can make others feel happy.
When we act with compassion, we get a warm feeling in our hearts. That feeling guides us to keep doing whatever we can to make sure all people are treated equally and fairly. We must never hurt others with nasty words, unkind facial expressions, or physical force. When we act with compassion, we let others be themselves. We welcome and embrace the chance to learn from others and to respect and celebrate our differences.
From this moment on, we have a great responsibility:
    •    We must begin and end each day with compassion.
    •    We must always treat others as we would like to be treated.
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    •    We must begin and end each day with a kind heart towards others and ourselves. Kindness leads to kindness and others will follow.
    •    We must respect each other’s differences in behaviour, intelligence, religion, and tradition.
A compassionate, unselfish and understanding world begins with you. Make this promise to yourself. Promise to try to show compassion to everyone you see every day, and help make the world peaceful and happy for us all.

THE EVENT:

The Assembly commences with University Heights students speaking about compassionate activites that have taken place around the school and in the community. This will be followed by a presentation by Erin Henry, creator of the Children’s Charter for Compassion, which has been endorsed by Karen Armstrong, TEDPrize.com, Charter For Compassion.org, and is currently being translated into different languages and introduced or affirmed by young people around the world. (More information please see below). Following Erin Henry’s presentations, students will perform music – as well as a dance, choreographed by Hannah Goldberg. Jannet Ann Nordemann will follow to briefly summarize the activities of Canadians For Compassion – including what other schools are doing around the world to embrace the Charter for Compassion. Subject to other student activities that are being planned, the event will close with a formal plaque presentation ceremony to Principal, Carol Edy – along with any final comments she may make. After the assembly, Erin Henry will be reading “The Golden Rule” to a grade five class. Media interviews with any of the participants may follow the assembly. Interviews with students are not permitted without prior authorization by Principal, Carol Edy or the child’s parents if they are in attendance.

ABOUT ERIN HENRY and the CHILDREN’S CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

A successful Toronto real estate salesperson and a mother of two young children, Erin Henry was inspired to create a Children’s Charter for Compassion after hearing the Charter for Compassion by Karen Armstrong at the 2009 Peace Summit. Working with an award-winning children’s book author, the primary goal was to provide a means for children and those around them to understand how to treat themselves and others with love, kindness and, ultimately with compassion in simple, easy to understand language. By implementing The Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have done to yourself”, world peace could be achieved. In Ms Henry’s view, it begins with our children. Since its endorsement by Karen Armstrong, TED.com, and the Fetzer Institute – funding organization for the promotion of the Charter for Compassion (see www.charterforcompassion.org), the Children’s Charter has been adopted and affirmed by schools and events around the world. It has been translated into French and Dutch, featured at TEDx youth events in Ottawa and Amsterdam, as well as featured events in Ireland and the United States. For more information see www.childrenscharterforcompassion.com/media.

ABOUT THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION:

On February 28, 2008 Karen Armstrong, religious historian and world-wide best selling writer of twenty books, won the TED Prize (www.TED.com) for her message that at the core of all faith, ethical and moral traditions lies The Golden Rule. At a time when events occur in our or other parts of the world, good or bad, impact is felt in the rest of the world. Thus, humanity needs to return to the Golden Rule as a means of setting aside differences and focusing on what is in the best interests of all concerned. Through TED.com, Ms Armstrong was granted a wish that people from around the world representing many ethnic and spiritual traditions would contribute to the creation of a “Charter” for compassion. With input from thousands of people from over 100 countries and final crafting of the document from a 16-member
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Council of Conscience representing Christian, Muslim, Judaic, Buddhist, and other faiths, the Charter for Compassion was launched on November 12, 2009. Since then, it has been translated into over 30 languages and affirmed by tens of thousands of people from around the world creating a global compassion movement. More information at www.charterforcompassion.com

ABOUT CANADIANS FOR COMPASSION

Canadians For Compassion was founded by Jannet Ann Nordemann in 2010 with one wish - to unite Canadians in affirming the Charter for Compassion and for Parliament to recognize Canada as a compassionate nation. Starting in Jannet’s adopted home town of London, Ontario, Canadians For Compassion’s goal is to ignite the spirit of compassion in communities in each of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories with the creation of compassionate city campaigns, the integration of compassion-based curriculum in education, from primary to post-secondary, working with business leaders to partner with community-based compassion projects. The website: www.canadians4compassion.org was established to fill a perceived need for a central network for featuring Canadians engaged in compassion-related projects and activities throughout Canada and around the globe, along with a search mechanism by which such Canadians could be found for those looking to get involved to help make our world a better
place. As well, the website provides a mechanism by which Canadians can learn about and affirm the Charter for Compassion, as well as the Children’s Charter for Compassion.
See www.canadians4compassion.org for more information about its many initiatives – including the recently release “Compassion App” on iTunes, the 2011 Compassion_IAM Tour across Canada, the documentary “Conversations on the Road to Compassion” – as well as updates on bringing “compassion” into Canadian communities, schools, colleges and universities. You also can follow us on Twitter: compassion_iam; Facebook: Canadians for Compassion; and YouTube: compassioniam or canadians4compassion.