The Family Assistance Education & Research Foundation (FAERF) has been at the forefront of the evolution of emergency management, combining the head-heart approach for a fully integrated response to survivors of traumatic loss. Practicing compassion consciousness in the workplace involves caring for people first, without exception.
Written by: Carolyn V. Coarsey, Ph.D.
April 2026
By helping a stranger, you can be a catalyst for positive change, setting off a chain reaction of compassion that can transform communities and society.
-Dalai Lama
I-HARP™ Practitioners continue to provide FAERF leadership with examples of direct involvement in helping to create a more compassionate workplace. Whether it pertains to fellow-employees, customers or people in general – we are encouraged over the examples we are hearing about daily. This month’s Consciousness@Work article features a story by an airport FAERF Care Team member who recently completed her Practitioner’s Certificate. Marianna Grassano works at Rimini Airport in Italy and wanted to share about how she and the team at RMI demonstrated compassion for a weary traveler.
A ticket agent expressed concerns over a young man who was checking in for a flight. He looked neglected, i.e. he appeared disheveled, scruffy, and untidy. There were no signs of intoxication or behaviors that might cause him to be denied boarding, other than his unkempt appearance, which was impossible to ignore. The ground crew were concerned that he might not be allowed to board, and if he was able to board, about how fellow passengers might react to him, causing distress on the flight’s cabin crew. Working together as a team, the airport agents decided to act, ensuring that the young man would be able to reach his destination.
After helping him clean up, they searched through clothing items left unclaimed for years and provided him with clean, presentable clothes to wear. Someone from the airport police, who had also become involved in a supportive role, took the passenger to the restaurant and fed him before departure.
A single act of kindness to a stranger creates a ripple effect that can touch countless lives inspiring others to pay it forward.
-Maya Angelou
Looking like a typical passenger, the young man boarded the flight and went on about his life. Marianna described the joy that she and her team felt over their opportunity to help this young passenger. Knowing nothing about his background, or anything about his story, his appearance alone evoked compassion in their hearts and allowed them to see him as someone who needed help. Unlike so many incidents and accidents that take place daily at airports around the world, where employees can do little to prevent or improve the customer’s experience, this was a need that the employees could fill, and they responded with loving kindness. Like the quotes above illustrate, the team will never know how many great acts of kindness, this one example inspired.
From the Foundation, we are grateful to Marianna and her team for helping this passenger, and for allowing us to share the story of another example of how compassion consciousness is being practiced daily in our world. Among the sad and tragic stories that are widely reported over all forms of media daily, it is a privilege to share good news that inspires hope and leads to future acts of kindness.
If you have a story to share with us about humanitarian assistance being offered in your workplace, we would love to hear about it. If you would like to know more about I-HARP™, please contact Kristine Budaha kristine.budaha@faerf.org.