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Fireside with Mary Gordon
We had the pleasure of spending our afternoon with Mary Gordon on July 20. Given Mary's hectic schedule as the Founder and President of Roots of Empathy (Suite 160), it was a rare treat indeed.
The fireside chat was organized to welcome two new staff members to the organization and an invitation was extended to tenants at the Robertson Building. Mary spoke eloquently about the philosophies and ideals behind Roots of Empathy in a talk that was both moving and inspirational.
Mary founded Roots of Empathy in 1996 and in the ten years since her program was first introduced in public schools it has undergone staggering growth. The program takes babies into classrooms where children are led by a trained instructor through exercises that cultivate empathy.
The world is seen through the eyes of the baby and the children are given the opportunity to talk about their own concerns and issues; to find a language for their feelings in a supportive environment. The program has successfully achieved its goal of reducing levels of aggression among school children.
The Roots of Empathy mission is to "build caring, peaceful, and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults." The organization's unofficial goal, according to Mary, is to "put itself out of business" by creating a society where the program is no longer needed.
Mary in interested in continuing these types of conversations with the rich community at the Robertson Building , so please watch out for another chance to chat with your neighbours.