Compassion in Virtual Spaces

If you lived on planet Earth this past year, your life probably was affected by COVID-19. Am I right?

We, at the Charter for Compassion were not exempt from this of course and thus, had to adapt.

How could we share the Charter's mission and its many programs while not going to conferences, meetings with cities, governments and partners, as physical gathering options disappeared? A lot of our work revolves around networking and happens and grows thanks to the many conferences and gatherings we attend around the world like the Parliament of World Religions or Encuentro Mundial de Valores

Thankfully, we already knew a thing or two about the virtual world, since we've been hosting monthly Global Read events for a few years now, online courses through the Charter Education Institute, as well as special programs like our Webithon and Golden Rule Day broadcasts which are 100% online, and as an international organization and movement, we knew our way around ZOOM and other platforms to communicate most efficiently with our partners and volunteers around the world.

Despite not being in the dark, we were left wondering:

How are we going to spread more compassion without the option of physical interaction?

How can we keep our compassionate cities alive and well if they can't gather with local government officials? How are we going to meet new partners at conferences, or through other partner gatherings? How can we still be agents of Compassion in our communities if we can't do all that we did pre-pandemic?! While we are unable to volunteer with our favorite organizations and movements, and we are being encouraged to stay at home?

The solution became clear to us. We needed to strengthen our online presence, host virtual, safe, spaces for people to still gather, to connect with others, discuss topics that nourish our deeper selves and hopefully at least partially fulfill the need for interaction with others. After all, we are the most social of animals on this Earth. We need social interactions to stay engaged and sane and healthy, even for the most introverted people in the world. We needed to become agents of Compassion online, to not only keep the work of Compassion and peace making at the forefront, but also to inspire others to become their own agents of Compassion in their own online/virtual circles.

Under the direction of our Executive Director, Marilyn Turkovich, during 2020 we took on a stronger approach to our online presence, especially with social media.

Are you aware of the fact that the Charter is very active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn? We do use other platforms as well, but we are definitely most active there.

You may think social media the worst thing ever. But, just like much if not everything in life, there are negative but equally many positive opportunities in social media and those we embrace, and we invite you to embrace with us! We share informative and inspiring content, which we hope you will share with others in your own circles.

I invite you to Follow us in the different platforms, share our content, share our announcements of events, webinars, and courses. A simple "share post," "share to stories," "save post," "like," or comment can make a difference to how our content shows up in your feed and those of your friends. You have an opportunity to share Compassion, by sharing our content online, that will uplift and inspire others to share positive and/or thought-provoking messages in their social media corner!

We are also very excited to announce with this blog post our updated Home Page! We updated the look, making it more enjoyable and easier to navigate our website, which holds so much information for you to use and share with others. All done with the Golden Rule and Compassion at heart, we invite you to explore it and give us feedback. ()

This message is part of our weekly newsletter as well as a blog. Sign up for it if you're unfamiliar with it, you'll find it at the end of this page in the bottom menu.

If you are active in social media, and a partner, please reach out to us. Enable us so to share your content in our own platforms as well! We do have a following!

Embracing change and adapting to it is to exercise compassion for ourselves, knowing fully that change is not easy, but having the patience and self-compassion to slowly adapt, and celebrate the small wins. That is compassion pandemic style!

Today, we celebrate with you the Charter's adaptation to becoming a stronger force online. From our improved social media presence to our new homepage and all the different events we host online for people to learn, grow, and act! We are committed to our mission and spread Compassion online, free when possible, welcoming donations.

With love virtually,

Felipe 

 This message from Felipe Zurita, Social Media Marketing Manager, appears in our 06/27/2021 weekly newsletter. To sign up for our newsletter, scroll all the way down to the end of this page to get to the bottom menu, in the newsletter section enter your email address and click on subscribe.