Compassionate St. Augustine (CSA) is the grassroots organization that led a successful campaign for the City Commission and Mayor Officially to officially proclaim (9/9/2013) that St Augustine had met the requirements of the Charter for Compassion International and in turn had become the first Compassionate City in Florida and the 20th in the world. The principle guiding over 50 Compassionate Cities, Regions and Countries and over 250 candidates worldwide is ––"treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."

Compassionate St. Augustine's mission is to inspire, influence and grow a culture of compassion through advocacy, awareness and action.

As part of CSA's multi-year plan, our Obelisk Art 450th public art project will pay tribute to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary in 2015.  This large-scale fiberglass commemoration of the city's story line will artistically encourage members of our historic city and beyond to follow and respect four values –– Freedom, Democracy, Huan Rights and Compassion –– that are the foundational pillars of the historic Monumento de la Constitución obelisk of the city's public square.

As a tribute to those values and St. Augustine’s history, culture and diversity, this unique project will showcase the talents of 25 renowned First Coast, national and international artists who will be selected to imaginatively adorn 8.5’ fiberglass replicas of the iconic obelisk. In September 2015, these obelisks will be unveiled at Flagler College’s Crisp Ellert Art Museum and be on exhibit for a month.  Afterwards, they will be displayed citywide on notable sites citywide. They will be auctioned in 2016.

Four-foot obelisks (with a corresponding curriculum) will be given to 21 St. Augustine public, private, charter and parochial schools’ art departments for fourth grade students to artistically interpret.

Plans for other projects for the 450th include lectures, visiting artists, other exhibits, book studies, and a compassionate film festival.

We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is proud and honored to have been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Dr. JoAnn Crisp Ellert Fund of the Northeast Florida Community Foundation to help support this project.