A committee of people representing Rochester area faith-based and secular groups is developing a plan to create a club where children can learn compassion.
Wendy Fambro, a minister at Immanuel Baptist Church, says the club would be open to children of all ages and backgrounds, and it would not be based on the traditions of any one religion.
She envisions a club similar to a scouting model.
"Something where you're gaining insights and depth and maturity and growing forward and earning badges along the way to mark those moments along the road, around compassion."
Fambro says there is a real need for this kind of teaching today.
"Currently, we are clearly in a much more polarized time of history. Not just in this country, but really around the world. So, it's becoming more and more urgent, I think, for people to be raised up, not just as sort of good citizens, but as compassionate people."
The group is hosting a Compassion Carnival on Sunday, September 16 at Immanuel Baptist Church, 815 Park Avenue, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event is meant to gauage the level of interest in the community in the idea of a compassion club for kids.
Fambro says the carnival will feature games and activities that are fun for children but also be framed around lessons in compassion.
"We have some seed planting stations; we have a listening group where you sort of pass the listening stick around and learn how to really hear each other. We have therapy dogs coming to talk about how to reach people who are maybe hurting or in pain, and this is one of the ways we can be compassionate with each other."
Because the idea of a compassion club is still in the early planning stages, Fambro said she welcomes input from other community members. She can be reached at Immanuel Baptist Church at (585) 473-7664.