Mark Sutton and Beverly Jones, co-founders of Partners Building Community Groups, a Pasadena nonprofit, celebrated the 2023 annual Global Day of Compassion by providing care packages to members of the unhoused Pasadena community.
This year, PBCG is providing back-to-school supplies and gift cards at Pasadena’s Robinson Park on Sunday, July 28th so local students will have what they need to start the new school year successfully.
PBCG Director Sutton, who is also the Criminal Justice Chairman of the Pasadena Chapter of the NAACP, is a cognitive behavior trainer, gang prevention / intervention and violence interruption expert serving the Pasadena community.
“We decided to partner with this nationwide effort to give back to our community,” says Sutton, “because it reflected the values of our nonprofit.”
“We are glad to do anything we can to promote and support the good works of the PBCG,” said sponsoring partner NAACP President Allen Edson.
The Global Day of Compassion is always the last Sunday in July. This July 28 will mark the tenth year of the event, and PBCG has been participating for seven years.
“Being a part of a community and coming together benefits everyone and brings families together in a positive way,” said Beverly Jones.
History of Global Day of Compassion
“We have a Los Angeles ministry called Fathers of the Community Ministry,” says Minister Hananyah Talmid Goodall, founder of Global Day of Compassion. “Our meetings are conducted in a park in the middle of our community in Baldwin Hills. Eleven years ago, a group of men from various states came together to form a think tank to discuss unity and evaluate what prevents people from joining forces for the better.”
Reflecting on the history of the group, Minister Hananyah said, “It was my first time to have been involved with a group of men to have long conversations about unity and sharing. Because of past local conflicts, it was hard to say, ‘Hey, I want to unite with you.’ We had to come up with a solution, and we realized it was all about compassion and only compassion. Everything else–finances, politics, race, demographics, etc.—would keep us divided. We came together on that day to push for compassion, to stand up in our community for humanity and say, ‘We’re going to do acts of compassion today.’”
Each participating community does something a little different, so acts of compassion in Colorado Springs might look different from what’s done in Brooklyn or Atlanta. And some things might look the same.
“Each community is doing it because they understand that this is not your government telling you to celebrate a cause. This is the people saying we’re for humanity, and on this day, I’m joining forces with my brothers and sisters all over the world. Global Day of Compassion is a picture of unity, not uniformity,” says Minister Hananyah.
“We are not all the same; we don’t look the same or do the same,” Says Minister Hananyah.
“Compassion is the picture of unity because it’s about what you do in your own community. It’s about you joining forces with other communities for one bigger cause.”
“Our most memorable year for compassion was 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he continues. “We went to the Baldwin Park area known as “The Jungle.” We gave bottled water to residents who were afraid to leave their apartments because of the misinformation being promoted. It was very powerful.”
Pasadena students must attend the event in person to receive the back-to-school supplies. For further information about the Pasadena event at Robinson Park, please call Beverly Jones at the PBCG office at 626.704.0185.
If you would like to start a Global Day of Compassion in your community or join the PBCG efforts, please contact Minister Hananyah at 510.992.3682.
