Posts by Sara Schairer

As I reflect back on Compassion It’s eighth year, I can’t help but feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and joy.  Here’s why: 1 – We worked with refugees in Rwanda Thanks to a partnership with the nonprofit Alight, we supported compassion initiatives in a Rwandan refugee camp, and those efforts may impact millions of…

I don’t know about you, but every year the holiday shopping ads seem to appear earlier and earlier. I get emails about Black Friday, Giving Tuesday* and Cyber Monday, and they tell me, “Click here! Go to our website, and spend your money with us!”

In 2015, retail and outdoor recreation services giant REI created a brilliant campaign to get people off of their phones and computers and into the world. While every other retailer asked you to spend money on Black Friday, REI told you to take a hike. Literally. REI closed all of its 150+ stores on Black…

Ready to end the year on high note? Why not change NOvember into YESvember, and see what happens. Why say “yes”? Saying yes isn’t easy. When you’re comfortable where you are, why rock the boat?  When I look back on my life so far, some of my most rewarding and enjoyable experiences have come from…

My Compassion It teammate, Burrell Poe, and I joined the organization Alight for a week in Rwanda in order to unleash compassion within the healthcare system at refugee camps. This compassionate care initiative, Amandi, began with uncovering obstacles to compassion. After that, we creatively developed solutions to remove those obstacles. We spent the week at the Gihembe…

What are skillful ways to manage the refugee crisis our world faces? As the number of displaced people rises each year, it’s a pressing question that needs thoughtful and compassionate answers. This past summer, I saw first-hand how Rwandans welcome refugees with empathy, compassion, and open arms. And I realized we could all learn a…

When I was invited by the nonprofit organization, Alight, to help figure out how to unleash compassion within refugee camps, I couldn’t say no. Our world is in the midst of a refugee crisis, and it’s not going away.  According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, the population of displaced people rose to an all-time high…

  Deadlines, back-to-back meetings, overflowing inboxes – oh my! While they might not be lions, tigers, or bears, the anxiety you might feel from workplace demands can feel nearly as threatening.   If you’re not sleeping well, feeling stressed out, disengaging from your work, or finding yourself utterly exhausted, you might be suffering from workplace…

1 – Burrell & I led our first two-day training, and it was FANTASTIC…and FUN! In December 2018, we had the honor of designing and leading a 2-day training for nearly 50 staff members of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Participants included trauma surgeons, training & development managers, nurses, chaplains and others. We introduced…

Yay for Giving Tuesday!  Do you believe in the work we do at Compassion It? Please consider supporting our efforts through your one-time donation or by becoming a monthly donor via our Compassion It Advocate program. Enjoy the post below to learn more about Compassion It’s outreach efforts in correctional facilities.   Malcolm* didn’t beat…