CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — The Compassion Games were hosted by Penn State Lehigh Valley’s human development and family studies (HDFS) classes last week with a goal of getting 500 random acts of kindness by Dec. 7 and getting their compassion games listed on the Compassion Games website. The classes are taught by Teri Kistler and Kate Morgan, lecturers at Penn State Lehigh Valley (PSU-LV).
The purpose of participating in the Compassion Games was to inspire the campus to spread happiness. This was a way for the students to take what they learned and do something that demonstrated the lesson. Every act of kindness helped to create the tree of hope which is displayed in Centre Hall on campus.
The HDFS classes challenge students to look at their values, ethics, morals and faith. Students discuss social and cultural values as well as who shapes them.
On Dec. 7, the goal of reaching 500 random acts of kindness was exceeded with 524 acts of kindness reported. A final video is currently in production.
“What an amazing opportunity, especially during finals week and this time of year, to visually see the good that is all around,” said Morgan. “A lot of the students talked about the compassion games in their final reflections, the stress of the work involved, the difficulty pulling different groups together, but ultimately, the positivity that resulted from all that hard work.”