Our Story
com·pas·sion \kəm-ˈpa-shən\: Mindful support, relief, and genuine human kindness- for others, ourselves, and our environment.
What: The Compassion Project (TCP), a non-partisan, non-religious organization and project,
is designed to bring the Bozeman community and the greater Gallatin County together
through education in and outside the schools around compassion- what it means, how
to recognize it, how to practice it, and why it is important. Upon completion of these
school and community lessons and workshops, each participant will receive a donated
8x8 inch wooden block to create their own artistic representation of compassion based
on what they learned. The final output of this project will be an installation of
all art pieces (~10,000 pieces) around Bozeman in the spring of 2019. It is the hope
that this will then be expanded to other communities around Montana and beyond.
Who: All K-12 students in the Gallatin Valley community, MSU community, families and community
partners will be invited to participate through classroom lessons for teachers and
schools that opt in as well as through public and community workshops and after-school
programming. We anticipate approximately 10,000 participants, however those impacted has clearly
been a ripple effect- from our crew and their communities to the participants and
their communities (teachers, students, parents), and then anyone who will interact
with the actual installations in the spring. Temporary installations will happen in
the spring of 2019 at the following locations: Emerson Center for Arts and Culture,
Red Tractor Pizza, Sola Café, Bozeman Public Library, and Fork and Spoon Community
Café.
Workshops offered: Over 200 teachers in the K-12 systems have been trained on the curriculum in order
to facilitate g TCP in their own classrooms. Most of these trainings happened in-person
in 3-hour trainings, but a few were done through a 1-hour webinar that we created
for this purpose. We believe over 250 classrooms in the valley will have been impacted
by this project as well as approximately 50 “partner projects” of community members
and MSU students participating in the curriculum. We are partnering with the following
schools: Bozeman High, Chief Joseph Middle, Sacajawea Middle, Hawthorne, Hyalite, Irving,
Longfellow, Meadowlark, Morning Star, Emily Dickinson, LaMotte, Monforton, Anderson,
Meadowlark, Whittier, Belgrade K-4, Sleeping Giant Middle (Livingston), Bozeman Field
School.
Other partners: Bozeman Public Library, Cancer Support Community, Bozeman Deaconness, Montana Behavioral Institute, Verge Theater, Bozeman Rotaract, Big Sky Youth Empowerment, MSU US101 classes, MSU Multicultural Ed classes, MSU Ethic of Care class, Bozeman Health Collective, Delta Gamma Educators Society, International Programs TEA Fellows, Red Tractor Pizza, Bridgercare, MSU EDU101 class, Montana State University (for open sessions), Suffer Out Loud, The Traveling School, and MSU Counseling and Psychological Services.
Desired Learning Outcomes: To help individuals, in the K-12 schools, the university community, and the broader
community of Bozeman, MT to:
- Learn to understand compassion,
- Learn to recognize acts of compassion and opportunities for compassion, and
- Learn to integrate compassion into their own lives and their community.
Funds raised: Approximately $50,000 (all sponsors are up to date on our website) including cash
through donations and grants as well as in-kind donations (point of pride is winning
a $10,000 grant from the Southern Poverty Law Center and over $11,000 from individual
community members in the GiveBig Gallatin Valley event over 2 years).
How can I learn more and get involved?
Visit our website: www.montana.edu/thecompassionproject
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CompassionPject/
Follow us on Instagram: @compassionpject For more information or to get involved,
please email Kayte Kaminski at thecompassionpject@gmail.com
