Louisville Wins NCAA*

*National Compassion Award Accolades
Louisville’s always been known for its friendliness, its warmth, and its welcoming spirit — not just toward visitors and guests, but for those who are already part of our community. So it’s not surprising that Possibility City was just named the recipient of the 2012 International Model City Award, an honor bestowed on the world’s most compassionate communities. Compassionate Action Network International is a worldwide network of individuals, organizations, and cities that has affirmed the Charter for Compassion and is working to create cultures of compassion locally and globally . . . and this year (humble fanfare, please) Louisville is its honoree!

We can’t guarantee you’ll win an international award, of course, but there are lots of things you can do either to be compassionate or to contribute to Louisville’s compassionate nature. For example:

If You *Love* Louisville,
*Like* Friend of Lou
Every great, awe-inspiring journey begins with a small step: like setting foot on the moon, being the first to climb Everest, discovering penicillin . . . or visiting us on Facebook.

That’s right. By going to the Friend of Lou Facebook page and simply posting “WE CAN!” you’ll be making a symbolic statement about our city’s commitment to compassion. But don’t stop there. . . .

How About a World Record for Compassion?
Soon we’ll have an opportunity to make Louisville’s commitment to compassion even better known . . . while setting a record in the process. Mayor Greg Fischer recently announced the Give a Day Week of Service initiative (April 14–22) with a goal of setting a world record for volunteering and “acts of compassion.”

And you can help. Share this email with your friends. Then click through to visit the Give a Day site to volunteer for an existing project, add your organization’s work, or report your own service. Needs are many and various and any act of kindness counts.

Give a Day Week of Service
Annual events such as the Crusade for Children and the Bell Awards have long shown Louisville’s commitment to helping those in need — most recently, of course, the outpouring for nearby tornado victims. When you volunteer to help — like assisting your neighbors with some difficult chores, or taking them a warm meal, or helping them clean up — you’re supporting not only them, you’re supporting Louisville. And when you donate blood to the Red Cross, or food to Dare To Care, or shoes to EDGE Outreach, you’re doing more than helping those who directly benefit: You’re making a difference across the entire community.

Did You Know?

• The soon-to-be-annual Give a Day week (April 14-22) leads up to, and is part of, the Kentucky Derby Festival.
• Louisville’s Muhammad Ali Center is known for its global outreach “to promote respect, hope and understanding.”
• Dare To Care Food Bank provided over 12 million meals to 192,000 needy people in the Kentuckiana area.
• EDGE Outreach is one of the world’s leading distributors and installers of water-purification systems in developing communities.