Tag Archive for 'kindness'

It’s Cool to be Kind

Published
by
josh
on July 10, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Reminding kids that it’s cool to be kind was the theme for an innovative partnership between Karuna and QPAC’s Out of The Box Festival in June.

Although coming together at short notice, QPAC and the Backbone Youth Arts Group developed a series of fun workshops for children aged three to eight which were then held in the foyer of the Lyric Theatre over the 6-day festival.

Backbone Youth Arts under the guidance of Artistic Director Fraser Corfield, and his team Lucas Stibbard, Frankie Savige and Rachel Apelt worked with Mark Radvan at QPAC and a band of wonderful Karuna volunteers to bring this to life.

More than 250 children (and many parents) took part in 20 workshops full of storytelling, interactive games and artwork. The children were asked to explore ways of how to be kind to each other and themselves and participating parents created an opportunity for kindness conversations with their children and others in the group.

All the fun and creativity was captured in photos, artwork and comments from the children which was then scanned into a computer with the children’s’ help, and downloaded at the end of each day at the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Sydney.

In Sydney the artwork, posters and comments were displayed for His Holiness and PowerPoint slides of the work were viewed by 5000 strong audience.

Despite his very hectic schedule, His Holiness took time to look at the artwork and acknowledged Karuna’s initiative to encourage kindness in our community.

Here are some of the children’s thoughts on kindness:

  • Kindness is light blue, because you can get to swim in the ocean and see all the beautiful animals
  • Lollies make me happy, and I share them
  • The first aid kit is a kind thing
  • You can help people plant a garden
  • My friend was really nice to me when some girls were being mean; she told them to go away
  • Ask someone to play with you if they look lonely.

This is the second year Karuna has undertaken the Youth for Kindness project timed to coincide with His Holiness’ visits to Australia.

Our culture of kindness was very well displayed at the event by our dedicated volunteers and Karuna staff.

Thank you to Leesl Ross, Jenny Birt, Jess Frost, Lisa Perry, Josh Birtles, Lorna Edrich and Roshi and Sangeeta Akhil.

Your efforts produced some wonderful material for the State Library Archives and for Karuna’s history of kindness and compassion in our community.

If you would like to know more about the festival or assist Karuna in it’s activities as a volunteer please don’t hesitate to contact our Marketing Manager Lisa Perry on (07) 36328317 or lisa@karuna.org.au

Bridget's Sunflower

Professors

Digitising Kindness

Kind Drawing

Mowing the Lawn

Kind Colouring

Reading to Sister

Ella on Kindness

Ella's Story

Forgiveness

Embracing Kindness

Published
by
karuna
on September 19, 2007
in Community
. 0 Comments

Kindness was the theme for His Holiness’ visit and Karuna created Kindness Week to give as many people as possible throughout Queensland an opportunity to participate in the visit.

Over 10,000 students from 13 schools participated in Kindness Week. 500 students from these schools attended the public talk at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and 50 student representatives were given the opportunity to meet His Holiness prior to the talk.

Another major activity during Kindness Week was the sale of Prayer Flags through all Loot Homewares stores throughout Australia. This campaign raised in excess of $10,000 for Karuna Hospice Services and we are very grateful to Loot Homewares for this wonderful support.

We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in Kindness Week and everyone who helped us host His Holiness while he was in Brisbane.

Dalai Lama's Helicopter Through Prayer Flags

Donation From Australia Zoo

Published
by
karuna
on August 30, 2007
in Updates
. 0 Comments

Karuna Director Yeshe Khadro accepts $15,000 Kindness Week donation. Kindness week was launched at Australia Zoo by His Holiness The Dalai Lama in June. Karuna appreciates this wonderful support from Australia Zoo.

Australia Zoo Donation to Karuna

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Brisbane

Published
by
karuna
on August 29, 2007
in Spiritual
. 0 Comments

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama accepted an invitation to visit Brisbane in June, Karuna was fortunate to have the opportunity to become involved in all three events scheduled during his one day visit.

The day began with His Holiness launching Kindness Week at Australia Zoo, where he addressed 5,000 people and spoke about kindness to animals and the environment. Our wonderful Ambassador Marie-Louise Theile spoke about Karuna before His Holiness officially launched Kindness Week. It was a wonderful start to his visit to Queensland.

Our sincerest thanks go to Terri Irwin and the staff of Australia Zoo for supporting Kindness Week.

After the launch, His Holiness came to Karuna and spoke to an audience of 700 people including clients, supporters, volunteers and staff. His Holiness spoke about the importance of living a meaningful life and the impact this has on our quality of life as we face its natural conclusion.

Later, His Holiness addressed a large public audience at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where 15,000 people heard His Holiness speak about the importance of kindness and compassion in the community.

We have had some wonderful feedback from our supporters, volunteers and others who enjoyed seeing and hearing the wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Karuna is producing a DVD of His Holiness’ visit to Brisbane. While it is still a few months away from being ready, if you are interested in receiving a copy, please subscribe to receive email updates (on the right sidebar) and we will inform you when it becomes available.

The Dalai Lama in The Mandala Room

2007 visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Published
by
karuna
on April 16, 2007
in Events
. 0 Comments

In 2007 His Holiness the Dalai Lama will give us an opportunity to explore more deeply what is truly meaningful in our lives. His Holiness will visit Brisbane on June 13 as part of his twelve day Australian tour. Karuna is working with the national tour organisers to give as many Queenslanders as possible the opportunity to experience the wisdom and compassion of this revered spiritual leader.

Kindness Week is a Karuna Hospice Services community initiative inspired by the upcoming visit of his Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is designed to nurture the spirit of kindness as a way of creating a happier life.

Kindness Week ‘07 activities will reflect the inspiration and simplicity of His Holiness’ Australian Tour theme - Open Arms, Embracing Kindness.

Download full pdf