The Compassion Cards are a unique expression of every student’s creativity. The cards are beautifully designed by the Tara kids and inscribed with intentions for peace in the world. The art cards are printed in stacks of 12 and as an option, the cards are available for purchase by family or frieds. The learning objective for the children is to feel personally empowered to take action to make a positive difference in the world.

The cards are truly beautiful pieces of art, hand drawn on best quality paper with mixed media watercolors or acrylics and ink. They make gorgeous holiday gifts or birthday cards. Most importantly, the children choose an organization to which the proceeds from the cards can go to. Past proceeds go to a myriad of local or international humanitarian projects. Some of the programs we have donated to in the past include:

• Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center,
• World Wildlife Fund & Hands on Disaster Response
• The Jane Goddall Institute

One of the core tenets of Tara Redwood School’s philosophy has to do with helping others. The children of Tara learn from an early age that small contributions of good will, gifts in the form of art projects, or simply directing their good intentions towards those in need can make a huge difference.

The Compassion in Action Program has many aspects but here are just a few of the platforms we work on together as a community each year:

The Hot Lunch Program
Parents and their children prepare hot lunches for their classroom; the money raised from this program goes to a specifically chosen charity by the kids local and/or international humanitarian program. In the past we have donated to The Otter Project in Monterey, The Blue Lief Foundation, The Monteverde Conservation League, Help Animals India and many others.

Adopt a Family
Each year as part of our social services program at Tara Redwood School we “adopt” families that have been referred to the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center by various social networks throughout the community. These families are homeless, out of work, in transition or recovery, or something equally difficult… but they are trying hard to get on their feet. These families may only apply to this program once. In 2015/16 as a school we have adopted 6 families across both campuses. We provided them with gifts to make their holiday season a little brighter.