iSpot Compassion Week on Campus
How to Host iSpot Compassion Week/Day on Campus
by Danielle Saporta
We all know that there can never be enough compassion in this world. Let's start initiating a greater amount of compassionate individuals by starting programs at schools. This local effort can have a global impact!
Here are some tools to share with your student leadership team.
1. Create your first meeting: Get a group of your most enthusiastic, fun, and compassionate friends and acquaintances together. Ask people to bring others who might be interested; you can’t do this alone! Host a meeting and get talking about some ideas you have to start a compassion week or day at your school. Make sure that you not only email your friends AND create a facebook event to let them know about this, but call each of them. If you want 10 people to show up, invite 20. Send out texts a few days before to remind them to come. Keep the email short and to the point; no one likes to read long emails! Let your friends know that there will be lots of FREE food and beverages. Maybe have a pizza party? The meeting should not last more than an hour. Keep it short, yet productive and FUN!
Important: Do a pre-meeting brainstorm so that you have a few ideas to throw out to the group to get a good discussion going. Be sure to take notes during the meeting as well.
MEETING AGENDA
0:00 - 0:10
Start by introducing yourself and have everyone go around the room and say their name and why they have come. Introduce iSpot Compassion Week and why you feel so compelled to work on this project.
0:10 - 0:30
This is the time to begin to discuss how you would like to see iSpot Compassion Week unfold. Tell your group members some of your ideas then open up the discussion to everyone. The goal of the first meeting is to brainstorm and write down other people’s ideas, identify group goals and figure out what you need to do to make compassion week exciting and eventful, and to answer questions like: How can you get other people’s attention? How can you get them excited to commit compassionate acts? What sort of events will you hold? Can you get your school to hold a dance at the end of it? Will you hold a raffle? Will you give prizes for the most compassionate act committed on campus? The possibilities are endless, but the important thing to remember is to figure out what is attainable and what will produce the greatest impact.
0:30 - 0:45
This is the time to identify goals. What are you hoping to accomplish? What offices on campus (i.e. at Sarah Lawrence College we went to Student Affairs, College Events, and Community Partnerships) do you need to go to in order to get permission to do this and get some help in planning? Are there any clubs you think could help sponsor or support or? Come up with a list of other organizations/campaigns that you would like your raised money to go to.
TIP: Maybe at bake sales have a list of organizations/campaigns and a brief description of what they do. Ask each person who buys something to put a check mark next to the one they’d like their money to go towards. At the end of the week, see which one got the most votes and announce to your school where their money is going.
0:45 - 0:55
Come up with a team name (i.e. Compassion Squad) and make some shirts so that people know who you are. Designate officers: who will be in charge of which events? Can someone make posters and fliers? Who is in charge of collecting money? Who will be baking? Tell each team member to make announcements in their classes! Finally, choose a date or week to do this. You do not want to wait to long, but you also want to have time to set this up.
Tip: It is best to choose a time of year when the weather is somewhat manageable. These events are best held outdoors because of increased foot traffic. You also do not want your bake sale to get rained on; no one likes soggy brownies!
0:55 - 1:00
Decide on a time and place for your next meeting. It is best to organize weekly meetings at a set time to see where everyone is at on their projects and what still needs to be worked on; what are the problems? How can you all work together to solve them? Also, give out a contact list (names, email addresses and phone numbers) to everyone so that you can easily communicate. At the end of the meeting, ask who is willing to commit to this. Remind people that there is strength in numbers: the more people involved, the easier this will be. Remind people to talk to their teachers and other faculty members about what you are doing. They might not only have some great ideas, but they may actually join your team!
When the meeting has been completed, send out a mass email to the group covering what was talked about and agreed upon. This is especially important to do if someone could not make the meeting, in addition to having a record of who is responsible for what.
Get the word out there: Start a facebook compassion group affiliated with your school. Also, you can create an event (i.e. ______ High’s iSpot Compassion Week!) and invite everyone you know to join. Write a short but enthusiastic and informative description about the events you’ll be having that week. If your school has daily announcements, emails, or some sort of newspaper, get them to announce iSpot Compassion Week well in advance in addition to when it is happening. It’s never too early to be compassionate!
Get approval: go to the appropriate office(s) to get your events approved. You may have to go to student senate or leadership groups on campus. Hint: this is also a great way to get more forward-thinking, proactive people in your peer group involved. Sarah Lawrence College also has offices called Student Affairs and Community Partnerships who I am communicating with in the process of creating Compassion Week. We also have a group called Sarah Lawrence Activities Committee. Do you have similar offices and groups to help you make this happen? Remember: be relentless. Let people know that this is important to you. Be organized before you approach the appropriate people for approval. Have a mapped out plan (and budget, if necessary).
Celebrate your success: At the end of the week, invite your team over for a dinner and party to celebrate being compassionate. THANK your team members. Discuss ways to keep spreading compassion!
