Women of Compassion Awards Ceremony

Report: Women of Compassion Celebration and Awards Ceremony

Whole Women Healing’s Women of Compassion Celebration and 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony was a success on all levels, offering inspiration and kindness in an uplifting, peaceful environment. The evening event, offered on May 16th in partnership with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, was held at Shadowcliff, their national headquarters in Nyack, NY.

Despite a driving spring rain and winds that lasted all day, a full house demonstrated commitment to the event’s intent, to honor women’s leadership in compassionate activity and, specifically, to honor two local women who have devoted their lives to other’s wellbeing. This year, the Woman of Compassion award recipients were Tashi Dolma and Joanne Goodman. Tashi, who has a Tibetan medical healing practice in Rockland County, has, with her husband, created an orphanage in her home country of Tibet. Joanne, the Executive Director of CANDLE, a Rockland county based non-profit that seeks to prevent substance abuse and violence among children, has devoted her energies to supporting those most marginalized in society, as a lifelong activist, clinician, and administrator. These two stellar women occupied the center of an embracing circle of many rings, formed by their relatives, friends and colleagues, Whole Women Healing members, supporters, and volunteers, and those attending one of our programs for the first time.

Within the spaciousness, peacefulness, and tradition of Shadowcliff, Whole Women Healing created an environment which embodied wellbeing – one of beauty, inspiration, and friendliness. Ikebana flower arrangements, beautiful fabrics, and our banners adorned the space. Freshly and elegantly prepared gourmet foods from area restaurants as well as appetizers and desserts, all donated, treated our taste buds and satisfied our appetites. After a relaxed period of settling in with each other, we segued from pleasing our palates and caring for our social needs to the evening’s program.

Our two honored guests, Mark Johnson, FOR’s Executive Director, and Venerable Guo Chan, Director of the Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association, shared insight and personal experience. Mark spoke of the inspirational role that women have played in the peace movement historically. Guo Chan, who persevered through three hours of traffic, rain, and an accident to appear, was able to give us a meaningful, if abbreviated, report on the “Making Way for the Feminine” Summit which she attended in Jaipur, India from March 6th – 10th. Our two award recipients were each introduced by a woman close enough in their lives to have witnessed their journey first hand. Tashi and Joanne received their Woman of Compassion awards with graciousness and gratitude. They each also received a Distinguished Service Award from the Rockland County Legislature, delivered by one of our legislators, Connie Coker.

The evening concluded with a Compassion ritual and a door prize raffle drawing, blending profound and lighthearted energies in closing. Altogether, the event demonstrated the hand in hand relationship between peace and compassion, showing how peace nurtures compassionate activity, which then further enhances the soil of peace.