April 2013 - Compassion It

Students Help Spread 'Random Acts of Kindness'

Several SDSU students are interns with a new movement that has one simple mission: to inspire daily compassionate action.

COMPASSION IT bracelets remind wearers to perform an act of compassion each and every day. After you do, you turn your bracelet over (it's dark on one side, light on the other.) Then, every night at bedtime, you turn it back to the dark side, ready for a new day.

When you buy a bracelet, you get an extra: one to give away. And that's your first compassionate act!

COMPASSION IT is a home grown San Diego pending non-profit. The brainchild of Sara Schairer, it's all about making "compassion" not just an idea, but an action.

"We say 'I'll Google it' when we search the web. This is about making compassion a verb, too. Compassion it. Just do it," says Sara. "The bracelet shows you belong to the movement, but it also inspires action. Our mission is simple: to inspire daily, compassionate action."

Student and COMPASSION IT intern Nolan Rakow puts it this way:

"Have you ever written yourself a note to remember to do something? What if that note was to be a better person? That’s the idea behind the bracelet. So every night when you go to bed, you put it to the dark side. In the daytime, when you do something good, you turn it to the light side."

What kinds of compassionate acts are we talking about here? Nolan says, "It can be something small, like saying something encouraging. It can be buying a sandwich for homeless person. It inspires you to remember to perform random acts of kindness."

What inspired Nolan, a business student and wanna-be entrepreneur, to intern with COMPASSION IT? "To be able to  spread a good message and help people, that’s why I want to get involved. There’s nothing bad about it; it’s all good."

Nolan has been wearing his bracelet for about two months now. Asked if he's ever ended his day with the bracelet un-flipped, his answer, happily, was "No."

If you'd like to purchase your own bracelet (and one for a friend), they're available at compassionit.com at $10 for 2 bracelets (child and adult sizes are available).

If you’re a member of a student organization or belong to a group that’s planning a fundraiser, you can sell the bracelets to help raise money. Contact Nolan Rakow at [email protected].

COMPASSION IT is a social movement that inspires daily compassionate actions. When you “compassion it” in your daily life, you can positively impact the world. You can read more here, and you can like the COMPASSION IT Facebook page!