Landmark Education News

Change We Can (Almost) Believe In

2011-02-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

Time Magazine article featuring Landmark Education. The article in the March 7th edition looks at the personal development industry.

Change We Can (Almost) Believe In

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Landmark Education Montage - TMLP

2009-04-02T08:10:00.001-07:00

Landmark Education Montage - TMLP
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This video is a montage of projects created by people taking Landmark Education's Team Management Leadership Program, where each person creates a 'Game in the World' that effects a community in a positive way.

Charles McNeil, Phd, on Landmark Education

2009-04-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

Charles McNeil, Phd, on Landmark Education
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How Landmark Education helped Dr. Charles McNeil make a difference at a global scale.

Landmark Education Forum Leader David Cunningham - Recession

2009-04-02T08:08:00.001-07:00

Landmark Education Forum Leader David Cunningham - Recession
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David Cunningham, a communications expert who leads the Landmark Forum for Landmark Education, is on television in Sacramento, California discussing how to deal powerfully with the recession, particularly in regards to when you're in a marriage/relationship. He gives very specific advice, starting with realizing that most of our suffering isn't related to the facts of what is happening in the recession, but rather in the interpretation we add to it. He recommends making a list of exactly what the facts are regarding one's finances before attempting a plan of action. The idea is that couples can then act in partnership to impact the facts of the situation rather than dealing with opinions they have about each other or the situation that may not make any difference. Hat tip to http://landmarkeducationreviews.com, where I found this.

Landmark Education project - Cherish Our Children

2009-04-02T08:07:00.003-07:00

Landmark Education project - Cherish Our Children
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The Cherish Our Children orgnization was founded in 1993 out of a project created in the Team Managament leadership program by Juli Hall. The organization has assisted countless endangered children in Europe, Africa and latin america.

Landmark Education Project - Causes for Change

2009-04-02T08:07:00.001-07:00

Landmark Education Project - Causes for Change
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Causes for change is a 5013C nonprofit charity that was formed by Zully Alvarado in 1996 when she took the landmark education self expression program. The charity is designed to assist children in need in developing countries.

Landmark Education TMLP - Operation Amped

2009-04-02T08:06:00.001-07:00

Landmark Education TMLP - Operation Amped
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Tom Tapp conceived of this project, which he dubbed "Operation Amped", while taking Landmark Education's Team management and leadership program in California. This video tells the story of this unique program (also featured at http://teamleadership.org) that allows amputee veterans to enjoy the fun and thrills of surfing. The idea began when Tapp encountered a naturally born amputee enjoying surfing. It occurred to Tapp that amputee veterans, who have sacrificed so much for their country, should have access to the same kind of fun and enjoyment at the very least.

Tapp's fundraising efforts to make the first surf camp happen became easier when corporate sponsors came on board with their assitance. The initial surf camp was sponsored by Billabong, Universal Pictures and Chipotle, with Iraq war veterans traveling from all across the United States to take part. The project has continued to grow and flourish, with expert surfers giving advice and support on a variety of different international beaches, including Costa Rica.

Kenya Leadership Project- Landmark Education TMLP

2009-04-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

Kenya Leadership Project- Landmark Education TMLP
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Landmark Forum graduate Jamie Yallup created a leadership project in Kenya as her Team Game in World during her year in the Landmark Education Team Management and Leadership program http://www.teamleadership.org

Landmark Education TMLP project - Carnival of Care

2009-04-02T08:04:00.003-07:00

Landmark Education TMLP project - Carnival of Care
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Debra Johnson created "Carnival of Care" when she took Landmark Education's Team Management Leadership Program. The project creates a day of celebration for survivors of brain injurines and their caregivers.

Landmark Education TMLP project - Hogares Providencia

2009-04-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

Landmark Education TMLP project - Hogares Providencia
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Liliana Martinez of Mexico City created a project in the Landmark Education Team Management Leadership Program around Hogares Providencia, the organization she helped found that takes care of over 260 neglected children in Mexico.

Landmark Education Forum Leader David Cunningham - Recession

2009-02-06T11:59:00.001-08:00

Landmark Education Forum Leader David Cunningham - Recession
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Youth Making a Difference - Landmark Education SELP project

2009-02-06T09:16:00.001-08:00

Youth Making a Difference - Landmark Education SELP project
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This video is about youths from Utah who come to India to contribut to some of the country's poorest communities. The trip was created out of one man's participation in Landmark Education's self expresion & leadership program.

Youth Making a Difference - Landmark Education SELP project

2009-02-06T09:06:00.001-08:00

Youth Making a Difference - Landmark Education SELP project
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Randy McNamara Leads First Landmark Forum in Singapore

2008-10-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

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This is a story about Randy McNamara Leading the Landmark Forum in Singapore

Landmark Education Gradaute Creates Project to Raise Funds for Restoring Salmon Habitat

2008-09-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jeanette Dorner who is a participant in the Landmark Education Team Management and Leadership Program has created a project called Joyful Tribe that is raising money to restore salmon habitat in the traditional home of the Nisqually Tribe in Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the Unites States.

To date Joyful Tribe has raised 3 million dollars. To learn more about the kinds of projects that people in the Team Management and Leadership Program around the world you can visit the un-official TMLP website.

Deborah Beroset of Landmark Education Interviewed in Seattle

2008-08-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Popular Seattle Radio Program "Chat With Women" recently interviewed Landmark Education Spokesperson Deborah Beroset.

Hearts of Fire A Project created in the Landmark Education Power and Contribution Course

2007-10-11T19:55:00.001-07:00

Bob Ballard Created is an Ojai California Musician and the founder of Hearts of Fire. It is a project that was created in the Landmark Education Power and Contribution Course. It is a mobile Art Studio committed to raising awareness about the issue of homelessness in America. This video is a result of a personal awakening he had

Causes For Change International Started in the Landmark Education SELP in 1996

2007-09-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Causes for Change International is a 5013c registered charity based in Chicago. It was founded in 1996 by Chicago business woman Zully Alvarado while a participant in the Landmark Education Self Expression and Leadership Program. Zully, born in Ecuador, contracted polio at the age of two and for most of her childhood was not able to do what other children were able to do. Thanks to the help of a Catholic Priest and his family in Chicago, Zully was able to come to the United States for medical treatment and education. Children in the developing world who have disabilities have a tremendous challenge. She created Causes For Change as a way of contributing to children and families in some of the poorest regions of Ecuador. For more information on Causes for Change International visit http://www.causesforchange.org/

Cherish Our Children International Started in 1992

2007-09-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Creation of YMAD: Youth Making a Difference

2007-09-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is the story of the creation of YMAD: Youth Making a Difference a project created in the Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Program.

Youth Making a Difference

2007-09-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Youth Making A Difference gives young adults from Utah a chance to contribute to the lives of children and battered women in northern India

Landmark Education Launches an Online Introduction to the Landmark Forum

2007-08-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

For the first time since Landmark Education began in 1991, it is now possible to attend an introduction to the Landmark Forum online.

View the Introduction

Videos About Landmark Education

2007-08-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

Many Landmark Graduates have posted videos on the internet about the projects they have created as well as the other things they are up to in their life. Here are a few of them.

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Landmark Education News has MOVED

2007-06-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Due to it's suprisingly huge popularity, we have moved Landmark Education News to it's own website and completely re-designed it.

http:www.landmarkeducationnews.info

Please visit our new home and take the opportunity to subscribe.

Make it your business to contribute to someone today!

Valerie Bocage a Landmark Graduate who Lost Everything in Hurricane Katrina Sets Out to Empower Women

2007-06-15T14:59:00.001-07:00

Founder and CEO of Powerful Women International (PWI), Valeri Bocage, tells her story of losing everything in Katrina to inspire women not to worry about things, but enjoy life.

Weathering the Storm
From: The Bay Area Business Woman
By: Julia Dodge

Valeri Bocage was visiting a friend in Bay St. Louis, Miss. — 40 minutes away from her hometown of New Orleans — when the governor appeared on TV and warned sternly “This is very serious — get out.”

“They tell us that every year!” Bocage recalls saying to herself at that time, as hurricanes are all but uncommon in the South.

A day later she found herself sitting alone in her friend’s house — her friend having packed her bags and headed for Colorado with her fiancé — having stayed back with the hope of reconnecting with her family. She didn’t know anyone in town, and had only $30 cash. There was no way to get out, no way to get to her daughter and grandchildren in New Orleans, and now she was watching people boarding up their houses on TV, preparing for what would be one of the worst storms in recent U.S. history.

She started to pray.

Perhaps it was divine intervention, but her co-worker, Steve, whom she hardly knew, came and got her at 11am the day Hurricane Katrina hit. Two hours later, Bay St. Louis was nearly underwater, and Bocage was off to Florida in Steve’s truck, and all her possessions at home in New Orleans were lost.

This all would be a sad story, if she would just stop laughing.

“I’ve been through much in my life, however, I always find the silver lining in the darkest clouds and worst situations,” says Bocage, who cannot tell this tale with a straight face.

She recalls a few weeks after the storm arriving at a friend’s house in Austin, TX. Her friend had cleared out a room for her, even the closet for her things. Laughing hysterically, she reenacts hanging her only three items of clothing, which she had acquired from church donations, in the closet. “I just have this!” she exclaims.

It has been almost two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, and Bocage has found herself thriving somewhere she had never thought she’d be: San Francisco. “I created the story that Katrina threw me into the Land of Oz, and I don’t want to go. I landed in the right place,” she says.

Originally arriving in San Francisco after accepting a position with her current employer, Landmark Education, Bocage is now the CEO of Powerful Women International (PWI), a networking and empowerment organization dedicated to empowering women into achieving their goals. “I just want to see people happy. Whatever I can give, whoever I can connect them to, I’ll do that,” she says.

And her positivism is contagious — since PWI began in October 2006, there have been numerous networking breakfasts and luncheons, creating a comfortable atmosphere for women, and some men, to share their feelings.

“What I find out from stories and testimonies of people is that [our events] start to open the eyes of people, through other people sharing,” she says. “And through the networking part where they pass their business cards — they start to get to know people personally. The atmosphere is for professional people to be comfortable, relax.”

And Bocage plans to take this feeling of acceptance and comfort all over the world, as similar PWI networking events pop up in Texas, New Orleans, New York, and beginning next year, Africa and Isreal.

PWI doesn’t offer financial aid or business plan classes, and its events aren’t limited to businesswomen — just women, according to Bocage, who are searching for something in their lives. She believes that by a woman getting support and becoming empowered, she will naturally proceed on a prosperous and business savvy road that will lead to her success — and the empowerment moves along like a domino effect.

“They bring that passion to their mates, and their family, and it brings more power to help the community, and then that spreads worldwide,” she says. “And with that we can change the world. That’s my vision. Everybody should live their dream.”

“I’m inspired what people take on and what they accomplish,” says Alison Laytham, PWI’s technical director, of the organization’s participants. “The journeys they have made are remarkable.”

And women are encouraged to pursue whatever it is they want, whether it be starting a business, writing a book, or becoming a public speaker. “I had a guest who said she would like to be a guest speaker, to share her positive experiences from the networking group, but was afraid to go up in front of people,” says Bocage. “And now I can’t keep her off the podium.”

Sandra Acevedo, the host of One World, One Voice, a talk show on Marin Public Access, says Bocage helped her set her goal. “I wanted to do a talk show in my life, but I had never took it on,” she says. “She made me set my date. Part of the training is you don’t leave your goals up in the air.”

Cheryl Fidelman, the Editor-in-Chief of PWI, says that Bocage’s love and support is truly authentic. “She won’t accept any less from women than the goddesses that they are,” she says. “She brings that out in all of them, and she has dedicated her life to that. It’s so contagious.”

Recently, PWI combined a networking breakfast with an afternoon of workshops, at the request of attendees, with topics such as “Working in Confidence” and “Living in Abundance.” Bocage is also looking to do a black tie gala.

However, with a team of seven committed women practically running the show, Bocage would like to eventually hand off PWI. “I want to travel around the world doing speaking engagements,” she says. A genie in a bottle can dream, too.

For more information on Powerful Women International and its networking events, visit http://www.powerfulwomenintl.com.

Landmark Graudate Creates Benefit Concert Where Kids Raise Money for Kids

2007-06-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

Young Band Members Raising Funds for Kids"

From the Grove Examiner, Calgary Alberta Canada

Six local kids - united by their passion for music - are looking beyond their individual and collective dreams for rock stardom, using their musical prowess to help needy kids their ages.

The Descendants - a local group of young musicians who have been playing together for more than three years - features six musically talented youth ages 10 to 13. Together with The Connection - a band formed by six local recording artists, many whom are family members of The Descendents - the group will perform at the Kids for Kids, Families for Families Benefit Concert.
Organizers hope to raise $50,000 for two charities which provide education and food for children in need: CAUSE Kids and E4C Alberta.
The event is the brainchild of Lennore Huddleston, mother of The Descendants' keyboardist and drummer. She came up with the idea while enrolled in the Self-Expression and Leadership Program offered through Landmark Education. As part of the course curriculum, students were required to develop a community project. With her family's extensive musical talent and experience, Huddleston accepted this as the perfect opportunity to plan an event her whole family could be involved in and passionate about.
"Education is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty. When children are hungry, trying to learn becomes even more difficult," Lennore says. "When I had the opportunity to create a project that would make a difference to the communities by providing food and support for educational programs, it seemed a natural thing to do."
Huddleston became aware of CAUSE Kids - a Canadian-based organization operating education programs in Sierra Leone , West Africa - through a friend who worked with the agency. Huddleston contacted CAUSE to see if her idea would fit with the agency's goals. The organization immediately and enthusiastically embraced her vision.
"CAUSE...very much appreciates people who want to raise money to assist communities where we work," says CAUSE Kids' Canadian program manager, Travis Wilkins.
"It is great The Descendants are choosing to make a difference in Sierra Leone . Even more inspiring - these are young people working to make our world a better place. The concert is going to be amazing, and CAUSE appreciates all the hard work being put into it."
According to the UN, Sierra Leone is rated as one of the most disadvantaged countries in the world. From 1991 to 2002, the country was engaged in a horrific, civil conflict in which a small band of rebels held the country hostage. Characterized by child conscription, rape, amputations and other methods of brutal torture, the conflict resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, causing a third of the population to become refugees.
CAUSE Kids' first phase of its program focuses on the Koinadugu district - the largest and poorest district in the country. More than 50,000 school-aged children - many whom are orphaned - live in the area.
"Without some form of intervention breaking the poverty cycle, a child...is unlikely to have access to formal education, is quite likely to be impoverished and will probably not live beyond his or her '40s," Wilkins says.
"CAUSE provides many direct and tangible opportunities to communities in the Koinadugu district. Children get a quality education and adequate nutrition, local people are trained and employed, water and infrastructure projects are undertaken and social and economic spin-offs are seen throughout the region."
Although Huddleston was excited about helping kids overseas, she could not ignore the starving children within her own community. She decided to use the concert as a means to raise funds for local kids as well.
"Our kids are very fortunate to live in Canada and to have all privileges that come about as a result," Huddleston says. "While I wanted them to be grateful for what they have and where they live, I also wanted them to understand poverty is not something that only exists overseas; it's here, in our own backyards. This is an opportunity for our kids to use their artistic abilities to help others less fortunate."
Huddleston approached E4C Alberta (E4C), and the agency immediately jumped on board.
"We are delighted to be part of this exciting event," says E4C executive director, Michael Farris. "The fact it is kids helping other kids makes it even more meaningful for us."
EFC Alberta - a non-profit, human services organization operating 15 programs to fight poverty - started Edmonton 's School Lunch Program in 1993. The program offers hot meals in 13 inner-city schools. In 2006, the program served approximately 404,950 well-balanced meals to students from kindergarten to grade six.
"The program continues to grow due to the great need in our community," says Farris, adding one in five children in Edmonton live in poverty.
"Our goal is to help provide children with nutritious food so they can concentrate on school work and not on their hungry tummies."
Kids for Kids, Families for Families will feature a 45-minute set by The Descendants, followed by a collaboration of songs performed by The Connection. Proceeds from the event will be split evenly between the two charities. Those who attend the festival will also have the opportunity to sponsor children in Sierra Leone through CAUSE Kids.
The two bands collaborated to produce a CD of original songs, written and produced specifically for this benefit. The CD - released in May - will be on sale at the concert. Proceeds will be shared between CAUSE and E4C.
The Descendants is so-named because all band members are offspring of highly musical parents with extensive song-writing and performance histories. The band, which is coached by the members' parents, was one of the finalists in the 2007 Futures Fest Battle of the Bands Competition.
Kids for Kids, Families for Families takes place at 8 p.m. at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton on June 22. For tickets ($20), call 470-4236.
Information about CAUSE Kids and E4C is available at the agencies' websites - causekids.ca and e4calberta.org. To learn more about The Descendants and The Connection, visit thedescendantsmusic.com.

Landmark Graduate Scott Bedall Creates "Wellness Challenge" to Promote Healthy Habits For Kids

2007-06-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

When Scott Bedall began the Self Expression and Leadership Program he wanted to make a difference in the health of kids.

Kids take fitness in stride, and then some

From: Times Colonist, Victoria Canada
By: Jeff Bell

The collective energy of a bunch of eight- and nine-year-olds goes a long way.

At Cloverdale Traditional School (the name has officially changed now that the elementary facility has the go-ahead to follow a "traditional" school model in September), students in Gale Penner's Grade 3 class and Ian Macpherson's Grade 3/4 group are two weeks into the Victoria School Wellness Challenge -- and have already charged past one of their major goals.

Wellness Challenge creator Scott Beddall, whose godson Logan Diamond is one of Mrs. Penner's students, said all of the children have been given pedometers to keep track of how far they walk and run each day. The hope was that they would make it across Vancouver Island by the time the program wraps up June 12.

Logan Diamond and Tasmin Laal show off the pedometers they've been putting to good use at Cloverdale Traditional School.

"The original goal was just to cross Vancouver Island in 30 days," Beddall said. "But these students are doing so well we've had to shift it up to crossing Canada because they've already walked so far. They did 904 kilometres in four days."

Fresh from an in-class striding-and-exercise session led by Mrs. Penner, nine-year-old Solan Baragar said he knew just how far he and his friends had already travelled.

"We've walked across the Island and halfway back!"

He said his classmates are using their pedometers every day and having fun keeping track of how far they go.

Mrs. Penner said the students are full of enthusiasm for the Wellness Challenge, which also emphasizes healthy eating.

"It's fantastic," she said. "They love it. They're actually moving."

The students have even taken to doing high-step walking in the halls to maximize their movement, she said.

Beddall said the Wellness Challenge is a full-fledged community effort. Several businesses have given their support by supplying all of the pedometers and healthy snacks the program requires, and the Greater Victoria school board has been supportive since it was all just an idea.

He said a leadership program he was taking in Vancouver through Landmark Education inspired his plan.

"It centres around building a community project that makes a difference. I wanted to set it up in a way that kids could really stay interested and get motivated about physical fitness and nutrition."

The program comes at time when health issues and their relation to diet and exercise are very topical, Beddall said.

"Diabetes rates are flying up, and childhood obesity is tied right in with that."

The Wellness Challenge also fits into the goals of the province's two-year-old ActNow B.C. initiative, which promotes a range of health- and fitness-related issues, Beddall said.

He said he had a lot of help getting the program up and running, particularly from Winona Pugh, and is hoping to do more in the future.

"We're going to look at ways next year that we can build this up and include more schools."

Leadership Victoria is teaming up with Rob Reid from Frontrunners to make the annual Mad Hatter Fun Run on June 2 an event to remember.

The three-kilometre run, started by Reid in 2003, takes place on the Oak Bay Tea Party parade route just before the floats, bands and other parade entries head out from Windsor Park. With the help of the Leadership Victoria "Street Feet" team, this year's run will be raising awareness of the needs of Victoria's homeless, as well as giving participants a chance to donate personal-care items to the Victoria Cool Aid Society's shelter program.

Cost of entry in the run will be $5, along with an item for Cool Aid. Socks, underwear, toothbrushes and hygiene products are among the needs.

Registration forms can be picked up at Frontrunners' Victoria and Langford locations, or Bellla on Johnson Street. Entry fees and donations can be dropped off at these sites, or at the registration desk on run-day.

Organizers are hoping the special cause being supported at this year's event will help double the field of runners, which usually numbers about 100.

Landmark Education Graduate Project "Genesis at the Crossroads" has Been Bringing The Arab and Jewish Communities Together Since 1999

2007-06-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Quilt communicates--One Peace at a Time

From: Sun Times News Group
December 4, 2006
By FELICIA DECHTER Staff Writer
The seventh-grade class from Nettelhorst School was as diverse and patchwork as the peace quilts its students were meticulously creating colorful, cotton squares for.

The kids were participating in the humanitarian project, One Peace at a Time, which will ship bright and vibrant, handmade children's quilts --created by American kids-- to Iraq children, through Operation Iraqi Children.

A square of the peace quilt being crafted by students at Nettelhorst Elementary School. The quilt will be sent to children in Iraq.

"It's such a fun project," said Lincoln Parker Wendy Sternberg, founder of Genesis at the Crossroads, the nonprofit organization responsible for the concept. "It's not just their visual artwork that needs to go down in history, but ideas on how to communicate peace through words, colors. It's a project to grow philanthropic kids, because I think that is what's going to change the world."

The project is part of a larger effort coordinated by Sternberg, who in 1999 founded Genesis, which is dedicated to bridging cultures in conflict through the arts as well as creating innovative arts education programs around the world.

With One Peace At A Time, Sternberg said she wanted to give kids an opportunity to think about world peace and show those emotions in a creative, artistic way. She asked the children to reflect their individual thoughts on peace through color and fabrics, thinking outside the box as they work.

"You guys are ambassadors of peace," Sternberg, a doctor with a private practice in Evanston, told the group. "Your message about peace in the world is actually going to be taken around the world."

This is the ninth school and the 12th workshop Sternberg has held locally, and she has run the gamut, she said, of nationalities. Sternberg -- who is Jewish -- said she started the project with the ideal of, "acceptance, appreciation, and a celebration of diversity." Each quilt takes about 10 hours to make, and the squares are meticulously put together by a team of professional quilters.

"The quilts are a nice medium," Sternberg said. "Everyone associates warmth and comfort in a quilt."

En route to the Iraqi children, the exhibit will be on display at the Merchandise Mart's One of a Kind Show and Sale from Dec. 7 to 10, and will then stop at the Chicago Children's Museum and other museums of peace and tolerance across the nation.

In conjunction with exhibit, Concert for Peace, featuring actor Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band, will be held Dec. 10 at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza. The concert will benefit Genesis' children's humanitarian peace programs, and One of a Kind Show artists will also submit squares for an original peace quilt that will be auctioned off at the Sinise show.

At Nettelhorst, 3252 N. Broadway, students clearly got into creating their squares and promoting peace Nov. 21.

Julliannah Muyiwa's quilt showed a sunset on the water, and hands and hearts. "I'd like to see no wars and everybody getting along and no violence," Muyiwa said.

Yamonie Noy said peace means, "People living, loving and laughing, and coming together as one with no war, and happiness," while Michelle McDaniel, said it made her happy to know she's helping other people and making them happy.

Sternberg said she chose Iraq because, "There's a war going on and there's no end point, and that leads to a lot of death and destruction."

Meanwhile, as they put the final touches on their squares, the students continued to reflect about peace.

Constanza Caal, drew a sunset, because it's "peaceful close to the water," and Miranda Davis drew both an American and Iraqi flag, with a peace sign in-between, so "the USA can have peace with Iraq." Marie Mungenast said she hoped the Iraqi children, "Will be happy to know we're thinking about them," with her drawing of peace signs and trees creating a "peaceful environment."

To Sternberg, who was tearful at times discussing the project and checking out the artwork, these children are the future peacemakers of the world.

"I love the spirit in little kids," Sternberg said. "They have so much verve and fight, it's endearing ... and it's going to take a fight for world peace.

"They have tenacity," she added. "They can make a huge difference."

For more information on Genesis at the Crossroads, visit http://www.gatc.org/index.html.

Habitat For Humanity Home Furnished by Donations Raised by Two Landmark Education Participants

2007-05-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

A project by two interior designers, Suzanne Perrin and Denise Inskip-Seale, to beautifully decorate a Habitat for Humanity home totally from donated material, labor and furnishings. The project was developed while participating with Landmark Education. This video chronicles the development of this project as well as moving coverage of the day the family who helped build the house got to see it finished for the first time.

Womens Resource Fairs: Begun in the Landmark Self-Expression and Leaderhip Program

2007-05-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

In 2002 Penny Beatty had an idea to create a resource fair that specifically addressed the needs and interests of women. 5 years and 25 events later, this project is still going strong.

From: Suburban Woman North Shore

The spirit of community was a key factor for many of us who
decided to be part of the fair four years ago, and remains of
great importance to those who participate As the committee
considered implications of recent world events, we could see the
impact in our communities and in our own lives. The request for
help, for clarity, for kindness, has never in our lifetime been so
forthcoming. In our discussions it became clear: here is ourchance to "think globally, act locally.

- Dena Eakles of Echo Valley Farm
Women’s Fair Advisory Board Chair

This Years Theme: Embracing
Reflecting this year’s theme of Embracing,the Womans Resource Fair strives to offer all women a central, credible source for finding enrichment. Embracing local and world cultures, the holistic resources and soothing, nurturing services and products
to help better women’s lives, the Fair promises to be an outstanding medley of interests for women and their families. Food service will be available for lunch and snacks by Whole Foods, both healthy and delicious. Spending the day will prove to be an experience to remember!

Presenting 50 experts offering information, products and services and 40 lectures and panels, participants will benefit from the following areas of specialties: Bodywork & Movement; Coaching; Education; Health & Wellness; Holistic Products;
Organic Home; Retreats & Counseling and Psyche & Lore. Providing the perfect venue to enjoy with friends, family, and co-workers, women can meet, bond, network and mostly, learn.

Featuring World Diversity
Attendees this year will have the opportunity to experience unique offerings of peoples’ traditions, ceremonies and cultures. From indigenous peoples’ prayerful ceremonies and the healing dance of Eastern cultures to the clarity of a formal Japanese tea ceremony, the fair’s programming will embrace the diversity within the community and throughout the world.

WOMEN’S RESOURCE FAIRS
The Women’s Resource Fairs host 5 fairs in the Illinois and Wisconsin area including Evanston, Lake Geneva, Madison, Deerfield and Oak Park. Directed by an Advisory Circle of community leaders, the mission of the Women’s Resource Fairs are to give individual practitioners, non-profits and businesses who serve women, a greater opportunity to enrich the lives of all women through the collective presentation of their services, products and programs. General admission to the fair is $10 and includes access to all booths and educational lectures both days. Admission scholarships are available for women in need.
For more information
call (847) 328-8775 or visit www.womensresourcefair.org.

Special Spectators- A Landmark Education Self-Expression and Leadership Project Begun in 2002

2007-05-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Special Spectators was a project created in 2002 by Blake Rockwell while he was a participant in the Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Program. Blake is a huge sports fan and got the idea to give seriously ill children a chance to attend College Sporting Events. In the 5 years since the project began, Special Spectators has grown to include 40 participating colleges and universities.

At each of the events, children with serious illnesses who would otherwise not be able to participate in sports or attend games, are treated to an all day event. The day includes special VIP seating, tours of the stadium and locker rooms, visits with the players and a visit to the field during half time in which the whole stadium cheers for them. As the project has grown it has been covered by various newspapers and television and radio stations. Recently it was covered by ESPN.com:

From: ESPN.com

'Create moments that take your breath away'

By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com

Blake Rockwell isn't sure of the exact day that he decided to change his life, and the lives of so many people around him. It may have been in the spring of 2002, when his wife became severely ill while pregnant and gave birth to their daughter 10 weeks prematurely. It may have been a few weeks earlier, when he lost his job with a New York investment bank swallowed up by a bigger firm.

But Rockwell knows for sure when he first began to realize that life is short -- Sept. 11, 2001. Three years later, the anniversary of the attacks falls on a Saturday. Rockwell appreciates the significance of that. He will be at Memorial Stadium in Norman, seeing to it that his Special Spectators have a day that they never forget.
Special Spectators
If you are interested in donating time and/or money to Special Spectators, visit the website, SpecialSpectators.org.

Special Spectators is the name of the program that Rockwell began in the wake of Sept. 11. The spectators are patients at children's hospitals near college campuses. Rockwell arranges for the kids to go to college football games. The schools donate the tickets, and Rockwell sets up the quintessential Saturday experience: tailgate, cheerleaders, mascots, band.

On Saturday, patients from the Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City will tour the Switzer Center, go down on the field before the game to sit in the Sooner Schooner, then watch No. 2 Oklahoma play Houston.

Oklahoma is one of 22 I-A schools that will host Special Spectators this season. A forest is burnt to the ground, and out of the ashes rise a few shoots. Three years later, Rockwell still thinks about the forest.

"Every time there's a beautiful fall day, one of those days when you can really smell the fall in the air," Rockwell says from his home in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago. "You realize that summer is over. You no longer have to suffer the heat and humidity. A gorgeous morning. That's when I think about it."

Rockwell is 37, a Michigan boy, born in Grand Rapids, raised in Midland. His father Harold was active in Michigan State alumni affairs. Rockwell cheered for Michigan. Something about being tired of losing in the 1970s.

His sense of humor is sharp, his laugh quick. Rockwell went to Albion College, and is quick to ply you with details of their 1994 Division III championship. You don't even have to ask.

He describes himself on that Manhattan morning as the chaser in us all. Chasing what, Rockwell isn't quite sure. But he was chasing.

"I had been active in volunteering at Children's Memorial Hospital when we lived in Chicago," Rockwell says. "I got carried away with my own career and things I was doing to advance my career. There was a bit of a void in my life. There was some passion missing."

He remembers the regular Tuesday morning meeting and the tone in Karyn's voice when she interrupted it by cell phone.

"She yelled, 'What's going on?' Rockwell says. "I thought she had discovered my mistresses. I didn't have any but I thought she had found out I did."

The images of that day remain with him, the images he saw on television, and the numbness and panic he saw around him. When your wife works two blocks away, and you can't find her, you don't forget that pit in your stomach. The attacks ended nearly 3,000 lives, and disrupted countless others. Rockwell came away from them with the early onset of midlife crisis. He wanted to know what he was chasing, and why.

"Karyn said to me, 'Think about what you love to do,'" Rockwell says. "You love kids and the children's hospital and sports.' I am a college football nut. By the time August rolls around, I'm saying, 'Honey, I'll see you in early January.' One of the things I learned from volunteering is how much the kids loved sports. They didn't have the experience in sports. Their experience was from TV, or through a video game.

"The atmosphere around a college football game is unique, and so much fun," Rockwell says. "Why not bring the kids to college football games?"

A few months later, Rockwell lost his job. Karyn became "very, very sick" in giving birth to Lauren, who remained in the hospital for eight weeks. She came home wearing a heart and respiratory monitor. Rockwell understood that he didn't want to leave Lauren in someone else's care. He also realized that New York was a long way from the Midwest, where his family and Karyn's family lived.

They moved back to Chicago. Between naps, diaper changes and jars of food, Rockwell began calling I-A schools. In 2002, two schools agreed to serve as hosts. Central Florida and Arizona had plenty of good seats available. Last year, nine schools participated. This year, there are 22, among them teams that have no trouble selling tickets: Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma.

Some schools give only 10 tickets. Some schools give 200. The word has spread among the close-knit world of athletic directors: Special Spectators is a good program. Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione is wary of falling for every warm and fuzzy request that crosses his desk. But once his department determines the request is legitimate, Oklahoma tries to grant it.

"If we can't do some of these things, what are we about?" Castiglione asks. "It speaks to our values."

That's where Rockwell came in. He found a sponsor, Levy Cares, the non-profit foundation of Levy Restaurants, the Chicago company that moved stadium food beyond the soggy hot dog. Rockwell has become savvy enough in NCAA-speak that he refers to schools as "member institutions." He is a stay-at-home dad, and he has become the favorite uncle of dozens of sick children around the country.

"I have a little saying I tell myself every day," Rockwell says. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take. It's the moments that take your breath away. That's what you're trying to do. Create moments that take your breath away.

"Yesterday's history," he adds. "Tomorrow's a mystery. Today is a gift. Live life to the fullest. What are you going to do with that gift? I wasn't always like that. But I am now."

Out of the ashes of Sept. 11, shoots have begun to rise.

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at ivan.maisel@espn3.com.

For more information or to bring Special Spectators to your school or Alma Mater visit: www.specialspectators.org

Mothers for Mothers: A Project Created in the Landmark Self-Expression and Leadership Program

2007-05-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Group offering help to mothers

Volunteers assist by tackling tasks

From: Sun Sentinal South Florida
By Laura Burdick-Sherman

Mothers need as much help they can get as far as Joelle Smith is concerned.

And that's her vision for a newly created organization, Mothers For Mothers.

"Every mother needs assistance with watching their kids; either they can't afford it or don't know who to ask," said Smith, of Sunrise. She and her husband, Daryl, have three children younger than 6.

She said she came up with the idea while on maternity leave from her position as drama teacher at Ramblewood Middle School in Coral Springs.

With time on her hands and motivation to do something meaningful, Smith participated in a self expression and leadership class at the Landmark Forum in Dania Beach.

"The course teaches how to live your possibilities out of life," she said. "We had to create a community project to help us learn how to live a better life, and I came up with an organization."

Using her life as inspiration, Smith's idea for the group is to help mothers with the numerous tasks of motherhood.

"I said I want to support and assist other mothers, and just by talking with people, I realized if we all take a stand and do one thing for someone else, it can happen," she said.

After several more leadership classes and with the help from Pediatric Associates in Sunrise and neighbors and mothers at the Little Gym in Plantation, Smith has garnered a team of 50 volunteer helpers.

The group has already helped Marie Gonzalez, 60, of Lauderhill, who is now taking care of four grandchildren between 1 and 6 years old.

"It's a big help. I had a lot of problems with school for the oldest because I was always late to take him to school. I'm slow and not well myself, by the time I get the four ready, I'm late. Now, someone takes him to school, and the teacher is happy. They offered me to do laundry. They sent me lunch, and give me stuff for the kids," she said.

Another recipient is a single mother with two young children -- one of whom requires monthly surgeries. A volunteer helps with meals and baby sitters, Smith said.

"Our biggest hurdle is getting us out there as a source for mothers because they're very resistant even though they need it. Mothers want to do it all," Smith said.

Smith has a supply of baby formula, diapers, laundry detergent, microwaves, and baby furniture, cribs, dressers and a stream of eager volunteers. She's looking for mothers who need help.

For more information about Mothers For Mothers, call 954-465-5413.

Self-Expression and Leadership Program Participant Laura Fiori Creates A Reading Project For Kids That Helps Build A Kitchen At A School In Mexico

2007-05-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Kids Hit the Books to Build A Kitchen

From WCAV- Alexandria Virginia

Elementary school students at Greer and Stony Point are hitting the books to help poor students in rural Mexico build a kitchen at their school.

The second graders have read 2,000 books. They hope people and businesses will donate $5 for each book read. They want to raise $10,000 to build a kitchen for a poor school in rural Mexico.

The Read A Book - Build A Kitchen Program gets kids reading and inspires them to help other kids in need.

“This opportunity to connect with Mexico and give back something was truly a meaningful event for every student,” said Greer Elementary Assistant Principal Lisa Molinaro.

“It makes me feel good because they are finally going to have a chance to feel good as us,” said second grader Caleb Bow.

“I am glad that they can have a great kitchen, and I wish they can have a yummy food,” said second grader Mariko Ogino.

The students are still at work raising money. To make a donation and for more information about the program, go to www.FeedTheHungrysma.org.

Donations are tax deductible.

Landmark Education Graduate Jennifer Kramer Raises Money for Special Olympics Each Year By Taking an Icy Plunge

2007-05-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

Really big chill: Polar Plunge's top fund-raiser has warm heart

From: the Chicago Sun-Times
by Rummana Hussain

On Sunday morning, Jennifer Kramer will throw on a Dopey costume and run into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan.

Some of her girlfriends, dressed as the remaining Seven Dwarfs, will follow close behind.

"We tried to recruit a male Snow White but that didn't work out," joked Kramer, who's on target to be the biggest individual fund- raiser in the annual Chicago Polar Plunge, benefitting Special Olympics Chicago, for a second straight year.

As of Thursday, Kramer had collected $4,700 -- a record amount any single participant has raised in the Polar Plunge's seven-year history.

Kramer also set a record last year, bringing in $4,474.

"It's so not about winning," Kramer, 36, said of raising the most cash. "But then again, how great is it to instill the competitiveness for the Special Olympics?"

Kramer, a native of Wauconda, grew up in a family that stressed charity and often delivers clothing, toys, books, and school supplies to a Mexican orphanage.

She first became interested in the Polar Plunge five years ago when she met Maureen Dillon, a former Special Olympics swimmer and basketball player with Down syndrome.

"I've always been profoundly interested in helping the less fortunate, especially children with special needs. [Meeting Dillon] cemented what I had felt all along," said Kramer, a sports development director with the Mayor's Office of Special Events, one of the many Polar Plunge partners.

Kramer, of Old Town, wore street clothes at her first Polar Plunge. But each year since, she, like hundreds of others gathered at the North Avenue Beach festivities, changes into a costume before dipping into the bone-chilling waves that feel "like millions of needles piercing your skin."

She's donned snow fairy and gladiator outfits in the past.

Kramer's contributions alone, officials said, are enough to cover costs of smaller Special Olympics competitions.

"She's very spirited and very generous," said Susan Nicholl, Dillon's sister and executive director of Special Children's Charities, the fund-raising organization for Special Olympics Chicago. "We're so lucky to have her."

POST SCRIPT
From the Again this year, Jennifer Kramer was our top fundraiser collecting a very impressive $7886.47! Jennifer (on the left) and her friends dressed as the 7 Dwarves and added great energy to the day's festivities!

Visit Chicago Polar Plunge

Landmark Self-Expression and Leadership Project in Canada to Raise Money to Fight Maleria in Africa

2007-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Bowling Event to Raise Money to Purchase Bednets

From: Canadian Broadcasting Company

More needs to be done to fight malaria, one of the biggest killers of children in Africa, advocates said Wednesday in support of a bed-net fundraising campaign.

For several years, African governments have marked April 25 as Africa Malaria Day, to raise awareness of the devastating effect the disease has on the continent. The infectious disease kills one million children in Africa a year, with 3,000 children dying daily.

Abuk Pearson from Darfur beat the odds for African children by surviving malaria.
(CBC)
Mosquitoes tend to bite at night while children are sleeping, but bed nets can help. UNICEF studies suggest proper use of insecticide-treated bed nets can cut transmission in half, and reduce under-five mortality from all causes by up to 25 per cent.

Canadians are responding to the Spread the Net campaign launched last year by MP Belinda Stronach and satirist Rick Mercer.

Under the motto "Ten bucks. One bed net. One life," the campaign aims to send 500,000 bed nets to Liberia and Rwanda over the next two years. UNICEF will distribute the bed nets.

"I give 10 bucks, I can prevent a child from getting sick or dying," said Nigel Fisher, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada. "That's impact."

Startling statistic
Campaign posters declare that a child dies every 30 seconds, a statistic that startled Laurie Hunter of Oakville, Ont.

"It's such a simple, low-cost solution to children dying," said Hunter. "I see my kids tucked into bed safe, and I think as a mother it's hard to believe."

Hunter and her friends decided to host a bowling-for-bed-nets fundraiser on Mother's Day, aiming to raise enough money to buy 1,000 nets.

Spread the Net ambassador and Liberal MP Glen Pearson from London, Ont., said it was easy to have his malaria treated in Canada, but the treatment is not readily available in Africa.

"It can be beat, and it has been beat in our family's case," Pearson said of his adopted daughter Abuk, who was underweight and infected with malaria in Darfur. She was not expected to survive.

Last year, Pearson discovered Abuk's twin sister and older brother were also alive. The family now plans to adopt Abuk's sibilings, who also have malaria, saying she has the right to live with her own family.

Landmark Education Graduate Ameet Maturu brings New Yorkers together in the First Annual Great Squash Cook Off.

2007-04-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Great Squash Cook Off

From: The Park Slope Courier
By: Mathew Moll

While millions around the country are focused on a game to decide football supremacy, the local squash world will be lining its stomachs, preparing to crown its own champion.

Twenty contestants are slated to compete in The Great Squash Cook-Off, a community-based “Iron Chef” inspired contest, on Feb. 4 at the V-Spot – a vegan restaurant – located at 156 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope.

“This is a chance to bring people in the community together and support seasonal eating,” said Ameet Maturu, whose company The Intuitive Cook organized the event. “We hope people will more become aware of what is available naturally this time of year.”

On the Food Network’s “Iron Chef,” the contestants are assigned one ingredient from which to cook a gourmet meal. Maturu’s version is to take one seasonal ingredient, make one dish, keep it local and keep it vegan. Which according to the American Vegan Society, means only products from the plant kingdom are allowed. No meat. No dairy.

Maturu, 28, described seasonal eating as people incorporating the season’s natural harvest into their diets. This, according to Maturu, supports local farms, benefits the body, and helps consumers connect with the origins of food.

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About 30 contestants submitted recipes and short anecdotes describing how they created their dishes. Judges selected the 20 contestants who were chosen on how interesting the stories were and the simplicity of the dish.

Members of the public will also be able to attend and vote on their favorite dish. The V-Spot is scheduled to open its doors at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 to the public. Admission to the cook-off is $15.

The winner will be awarded $200 cash prize and the dish will be featured on the V-Spot’s menu where it will remain for at least the winter, but with the possibility of becoming a permanent item.

They’ll compete in one of three categories: soups/stews/chilis, entrees and sides, and desserts.

“Winter squash is available naturally this time of year and provides many of the vitamins the body needs to survive the winter,” said Maturu.

Danny Carabano, owner of the V-Spot, saw the contest as a chance to have a new event at his nine-month-old restaurant.

When Maturu and Carabano met through a mutual acquaintance their interests complemented each other like tempeh and tofu.

The V-Spot is in its nascent state searching for new ways to reach what Carabano called a growing vegetarian population in Park Slope.

“When Ameet and I met he already had the cook-off in mind,” said Carabano who worked for six years as a teacher while he saved to open his restaurant. “After we spoke it just made sense.”

Carabano, who has a palate for cooking, and wears faded jeans and a T-shirt is a restaurateur, sous chef, promoter and waiter.

Carabano said limited dining options motivated him to open a vegan restaurant, and Maturu’s idea seemed like fun, even if he has only made squash soup.

“Yeah, I generally don’t make squash,” said Carabano. “So I am interested in trying new dishes.”

Maturu moved to New York City from San Francisco to study at the Institute of Interactive Nutrition, where he became a holistic health counselor. At Maturu’s new business, The Intuitive Cook, he advises his clients on diet, nutrition, and lifestyle. The idea to combine one of Maturu’s favorite shows, “The Iron Chef,” with his professional career was an ideal way for Maturu to meet members of the community and cook with them.

But culinary combat with dishes with names such as Three Sisters Chili and Three Sisters Stew, the event may prove to be more about camaraderie than clashing; more about the history of dishes than the histrionics the Food Network’s reality show provides.

The same panel of six judges, Carabano, Maturu, Kala Lea, co-owner of Smooch, an organic restaurant in Fort Green; Vikas Khanna, a restaurant consultant and owner; Anna Lappe, the author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic; and Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Vegan with a Vengeance will judge the dishes based on taste, presentation, and ease of preparation.

“We want something other people in the community can make,” said Carabano.

“The idea of this event is to help people get more connected with their food, and to others who enjoy cooking,” said Maturu.

Landmark Education Graduate, Best Selling Author and Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, Ben Zander Interviewed on Canadian Television

2007-04-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Landmark Education Graduate Ben Zander, best selling business author and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Symphany was interviewed on Canadian Televsion. He is show leading a seminar for musicians in Toronto Canada and speaking about leadership, transformation, Landmark Education and The Landmark Forum.

Landmark Education comes to URI, offers new learning experience - News

2007-04-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Landmark Education comes to URI, offers new learning experience - News

Landmark Education Graduate Project Uses Improv Comedy to Contribute to Survivors of Sexual Assualt

2007-04-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Using Improvisational Comedy to Bring Laughter and Light Heartedness Back Into the Lives of Survivors of Sexual Assault.

Andrea Howe used the Landmark Education Self Expression and Leadership Program to create an organizations called "Living Out Loud". A survivor of sexual assault herself, Andrea had come a long way in her healing proccess and wanted to contribute to other women with a similar experience.

Living Out Loud workshops use the vehicle of improvisational comedy to help survivors who are ready begin to bring laughter and light-heartedness back into their lives.

Listen to an iterview with Andrea Howe on Washington Post Radio

Living Out Loud Website

Landmark Education Self-Expression and Leadership Project Gives Senior Citizens a Thrill by Taking Them for Motorcycle Rides

2007-04-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Project called G.O.P.A.T. (Giving Old People A Thrill)

New Zealand Self Expression and Leadership Program Participant Max Vodane created a project that brought the Ulysses Motor Bike Club together with the St. Andrews Retirement Community. Bike Club Members took Senior Citizens from St. Andrews for rides on Motorcyles.

Landmark Education Graduate Ginna Goodenow Creates Project to Raise Money to buy Prosthetic Limbs for Kids

2007-04-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Limbs For Life

From 9NEWS NOW Washington D.C.
If there was ever a pitch for a cause, Jessica Rogers knows how to hit it.

"Some kids that don't have legs and arms, they're gonna get money for them to get fake legs and arms."

"How important is that?" asks 9NEWS NOW reporter Emily Schmidt.

"That’s really important because you want to feel like everybody else."

So does Dayton, a kid who runs the bases in 12 seconds flat with out the help of legs. Margaret Wesley wants to see him running even faster with a prosthetic.

"When I look at kids playing ball, I see kids who have a chance to do what I've done as an amputee."

A bus accident took her leg when she was 18; a prosthetic leg gave freedom in return. But it is not cheap. Jerett's dad, Craig Coleman, says his son's braces are 5000 dollars for each quickly-growing leg.

"Insurance says every three years, but he's seven, and on his fourth pair."

Ginna Goodenow says, "These kids deserve to live happy, normal, free lives. And prosthetics are important for them to be able to do that."

So Saturday morning on the national mall, kids of all abilities are invited to come get their kicks in any kind of a sport and benefit a nonprofit group called "Limbs for Life."

"They provide limbs at very low costs. For 1500 dollars they can achieve what 30 thousand may cost someone else."

Jessica's own prosthetic legs are getting fixed right now. She knows what they give her and what others think when she goes without.

"They probably think, 'oh my gosh --- her legs. She doesn't have any...ugh!' But really, I just had surgery on them, haven't you had surgery before?"

These kids can outrun adversity now; imagine what would happen if prosthetics took them to the next step.

The second Annual Kicking For Kids Who Cant is going to be held on October 7th, 2007.

See Addtional Coverage of the project on Fox News

Visit the Kicking For Kids Who Cant Website

Landmark Education Self Expression & Leadership Project Uses Photography to Help Children Living in a Tough Neighborhood Find Beauty in Everyday Life

2007-04-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Uplifiting Images Of Tenderloin CommunityStudents Help Change Perception Of Tough Neighborhood

See the Video

From ABC7 KGO-TV/DT San Francisco
By Carolyn Tyler
Mar. 28 - KGO - We want to take you to a school in a tough San Francisco neighborhood that's helping their students rise above their environment in a very creative way.

De Marillac Academy sits in the heart of the Tenderloin, a neighborhood plagued by chronic homelessness, drugs and despair.

Sufian Yahya, Student: "I live across the street and when some people ask me for spare change and they're smoking in my face, so then I just have to walk away."

Most of the students here live nearby. De Marillac is a Catholic elementary school founded in 2001 specifically to meet the needs of inner-city kids. Once they enter the classroom, the chaos outside is left behind.

Mike Daniels, De Marillac Academy: "We believe that we are really serving as a beacon of hope for the families and the students of the Tenderloin."

Today, these fourth graders who are sometimes overwhelmed by the negatives of the neighborhood will focus literally on the positive. They're partnering with high school students from Sacred Heart to learn digital photography.

It's Sally Allen's idea. She's with a program called Artseed and says the purpose is to bring joy.

Sally Allen, Artseed: "Also, to help them with their self-image and to give them a sense of their community."

The Civic Center Farmer's Market presented a vibrant backdrop for the young photographers to try their hand at capturing images around them.

Precious Listana, Student: "Pigeons, buildings and a fountain."

They had no problems finding things of beauty in their own backyard -- uplifting pictures and inspiring photos that might help change their perception of where they live.

The children's photos will eventually become part of a permanent display at school -- another view of their neighborhood.

Copyright 2007, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.

Landmark Forum Graduates and Filmakers Document Fair Trade Measures in Africa

2007-04-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

240,000 Miles, $1,000 in Shots, Two Feet From Instant Death

Jessica and Bill Kizorek are not strangers to international travel. They have been to a combined total of 200 countries, including one journey involving all seven continents.

By the beginning of 2007 the pair had committed to a unique kind of travel mission—giving away, in twelve months, one million frequent flyer miles to various global charities. They would also throw in their expertise as filmmakers to go abroad and document the good works of organizations who were helping out the world’s needy.

The daddy/daughter duo just got back from one of those video missions this time to Kumasi and Accra, both in the West African country of Ghana. “This was the most challenging so far,” said Jessica. “In our earlier trips to Cambodia and Moldova no vaccinations were required. Because of the potential for sickness I loaded up on Hepatitis A, Diptheria, Percussus, Tetanus, Meningitis, and Yellow Fever shots. My dad got even a few more because he was heading off to Rwanda and the Congo the following month. Both of us got prescription for aspirin-sized malaria tablets (Malerone). Together we spent over a thousand dollars on shots.”

In addition, they were outfitted with Buzz Off clothing, a product made by ExOfficio. The garments are embedded with a man-made version of a natural insect repellant found in certain chrysanthemums. This also helped protect the duo from potentially dangerous insect bites.

Delta’s new service direct from the USA to Accra saved the team from having to use up two days by flying first to London and then to West Africa. “I turned in 240,000 miles for a couple of tickets,” explained Bill. “By the time we arrived the heat, humidity and mosquitoes were ready. That first day we met a girl from Boston college who was working in town. She told us that, in spite of taking her malaria tablets, she had contracted Malaria three times.”

The Kizoreks had two missions while here; the first was to document the effect that vitamins and glyco-nutrients had on impoverished children in Accra, the second was to make a documentary film about how Fair Trade cocoa bean farming around the Kumasi region had improved the quality of life for tens of thousands of workers. Manna Relief was supplying the food supplements, and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) was now in partnership with Divine Chocolate—the end product of the cocoa bean harvest.

One of the most compelling days was at an orphanage outside two hour’s drive north of Africa. Rural. Twenty kids, mostly orphaned by parents who died of AIDS. They had a rickety structure about the size of a small American bedroom, but split in two. Ten kids slept on each side.

In spite of the almost abject poverty, the locals put out a welcome mat of with song and dance. After the ceremony, and distribution of vitamins there was a walk to hole in the ground where the townspeople scoop out buckets of a foggy substance resembling dirty dish water more than it does acceptable drinking water. They don’t boil it, just drink it, swallowing whatever bits of earth and bugs are suspended in it. Sickness abounds in the community largely due to a ghastly water supply. It would cost $5,500 to dig a well that would provide clean water for the entire community of 2,000 human beings, but none is planned.

Although also a poor town, a different scene appeared outside of Kumasi, five hours drive north of Accra. Here 40,000 cocoa farmers have banded together to form the Kapua Kakoo cocoa bean cooperative. Because of a deal with Divine Chocolate and now LWR, the beans are sold under “Fair Trade” agreements to allow the farmers to make a sustainable wage out of their efforts.

Jessica and Bill filmed the farm operations where cocoa bean pods grew on thirty-foot tall trees. Breaking open an avocado-sized pod revealed dozens of seeds with a slimy, white, vanilla-tasting coating. Many of these beans would later be dried out and shipped internationally to be processed by Divine Chocolate. The extra money created by the Fair Trade practices was invested in schools, wells, and other projects (snail farms, soap-making) which allowed the locals to enjoy, creating a more life for the farm families.

Because of the lack of resources in some parts of Africa, vehicle maintenance is not up to U.S.A. standards. This may or not have been the cause of a “near death” experience for Bill Kizorek, but he was lucky to leave this assignment alive. After checking emails one night he hopped into a taxi for a five minute ride back to the Precise Lodge. The taxi stopped because a street fight was blocking the road. What did not stop was a semi truck (who whose driver would later tell police the brakes failed) that came barreling into the stopped traffic. It appeared that, at the last second, he might have tried to aim his eight-foot wide truck into the four-foot space between Bill’s taxi and the cab parked in the opposite direction. In an instant Bill’s taxi was hurled into a drainage ditch as the truck plowed into four more vehicles. Bill kicked out the window of the taxi, ran for his life—not knowing if the truck was a fuel tanker ready to blow up.

According to Bill, “the taxi that was next to me facing towards the truck was severely demolished. If the truck was just a foot or two over on my side, my head would have been ripped off by the impact. I have no idea why he decided to veer into the other lane rather than just crush us instead. He must have been in my lane to begin with because he was on a narrow road traveling in the same direction as my taxi.” Bill ended up covered in bruises and was put on the next Delta flight to New York.

According to Jessica, “my father is aware of the risks that go hand in hand visiting some of the poorest areas of the world: bugs, heat, snakes, diseases. This was something so random. I am glad we are both returning to tell the story of the need as well as those who have found a way to survive by taking control of their own fate.”

Last year Bill Kizorek entered his S.E.L.P. course with no idea of what he was going to do. He chose, for his project, to go to Thailand and Cambodia to document the work of a Seattle-based charity. He went on to donate a million more frequent flyer miles to charity in 2007. Jessica will be approved to lead the Self Expression and Leadership Program in June of 2007.

Jessica lives in Dania Beach, FL, Bill in Lisle, IL

visit www.twoparrot.com NEWS

Innovative Prison Project Utilizes Landmark Education Course Concepts

2007-03-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Moving beyond prison system

From the Philadelphia Inquirer
By David Parrish

Today, everyone is concerned about crime. We all live with the threat of becoming victims.

The alarming costs of crime include loss of life, traumatized people, disrupted families, and the enormous financial burden involved in maintaining a police presence and housing an ever-growing prison population.

The evidence continues to indicate that what we are doing to reduce crime is not working, and yet the actions we take continue to be the same.

I have worked in the prison system for 33 years as a psychologist and an administrator. I have interviewed thousands of inmates and watched as the justice system processed them through the prison experience.

I have concluded that our social perceptions of people we call criminals are the source of our ineffective actions.

Psychologically, this is fairly simple to see. If you perceive and relate to someone in a particular way, it is highly likely that person will behave consistent with your expectations.

This is evident when frustrated parents see their teenage children as "problems" and punish them with restrictions. The teens fight these attempts at control and escalate into more risky forms of behavior.

In our justice system, we label people as "criminals," confine them, punish them, and subject them to experiences that leave them with the conclusion that they are no good.

Then we expect them to change into good, law-abiding citizens.

This process often starts with a one-time, nonviolent offense. But after being processed through our system, the offender begins to see himself as a criminal for life and is then willing to escalate to more serious offenses because he no longer sees a future in which he is on an equal playing field with the rest of society.

Last year, at Riverfront Prison, in Camden, we introduced a transformational approach toward inmates that we call the Impact Project.

Our project has been granted permission to utilize leading-edge technology designed by Landmark Education, an internationally recognized industry leader in the training and development field.

At Riverfront, this approach helps reveal to the incarcerated offenders how their view of the world around them - and of themselves - results in their destructive and threatening behaviors.

In turn, the program enables those who supervise the inmates to get at the sources of criminal behavior, and thus help change it rather than just impose their moral judgments.

Prisoners are oriented toward a new view of themselves and the world, one that empowers them to imagine and create a future that breaks the cycle of incarceration.

Inmates at Riverfront must qualify for the Impact Project.

To qualify, inmates must be within a year of parole eligibility, pass an interview by a committee consisting of custody and treatment staff, and make written agreements for full participation, which includes committing to completing a high school education.

Currently, 85 of our 1,000 inmates are enrolled in the program.

The project begins with a three-day, 36-hour intensive "Breakthrough Course." This is a rigorous inquiry that provides the inmates with a clear picture of how they developed anti-social identities, and leaves them with the choice of who they want to be in the future.

Then the inmates participating in the course are moved together into a housing unit and guided to establish a peer learning community where they practice using their newly acquired self-transformational tools in everyday situations.

Follow-up seminars are provided to expand on the foundation material.

The project provides inmates with continual programming and support for the duration of their incarceration and even after their release.

So far, two of the "graduates" have been released. Both seem to be doing well in adjusting to society outside.

This weekend, I am scheduled to make a public presentation of this crime-fighting strategy.

I will speak at 3 p.m. Sunday at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Admission is free. For more information call: 610-329-6755.

I hope to prompt a new conversation about crime in which we collectively transform our approach to dealing with it.

Slowing, if not ending, the cycle of crime and incarceration will create a safer environment for all of us.

David Parrish, a forensic psychologist, is administrator of Riverfront State Prison, in Camden.

Original Article

Landmark Self Expression and Leadership tackles the revitalization of a New Jersey Town

2007-03-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

Jamesburg packs revitalization meeting

From the Princeton Packet
By: Audrey Levine, Special Writer
03/23/2007

The meeting focused on finding ways to better the downtown business district.

JAMESBURG — More than 100 residents attended a meeting at the Grace M. Breckwedel School to talk about how to improve the borough's downtown.
The March 15 meeting was sponsored by the Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition. Those who attended helped fill out a survey that asked respondents to list possible ways to improve the downtown area.
The coalition, an independent organization of homeowners and business owners in Jamesburg, has joined with three students from the Rutgers Bloustein School of Policy and Planning to begin looking at ways to revitalize the area.
Downtown Jamesburg extends from Buckelew Avenue, and along East and West Railroad avenues, according to Elliot Stroul, president of the coalition.
Mr. Stroul said that the students did research for, and prepared, a visual presentation of the different options for changing downtown Jamesburg in the categories of steets, pedestrians, buildings, signs, parking, open space and mobility.
Some of the proposed options included creating a Main Street with a tree-lined boulevard as a median; creating a sidewalk with outdoor seating from restaurants; building two-story row houses; and using banner-style signs.
Residents in attendance rated the options on a scale of negative 10 to positive 10, based on how appropriate they believed the choices to be for the town.
After the presentation, attendees filled out a written survey that asked about conditions in Jamesburg and what changes might improve the area.
Mr. Stroul said the results, along with those taken at the coalition's Feb. 17 meeting, will be given to the Rutgers students. He said the students would then draw up a plan of proposed changes to be presented in late April or early May.
"We will then review it with the Land Use Board and the Township Council," Mr. Stroul said. "We will prioritize what projects need to be done and try to get the money from Middlesex County."
According to Teddy Ehmann, secretary of the coalition and owner of Family Framers, the coalition wants to involve the community in planning any changes.
He said he began work on the renovation project, dubbed "I Love Jamesburg," after taking a leadership course with Landmark Education, which works with people who are looking to make a difference in their communities.
"This project is to benefit the community," he said.
Many of the residents in attendance said they were glad to have some input in the possible changes for downtown Jamesburg.
"I am interested in the future of Jamesburg," said resident Dan Dobromilsky. "They asked very good questions and these are the types of things we need to analyze to have the best future for Jamesburg."
Resident Gail Somers also said she wants to be involved in what is going to happen.
"I want to see it move in the right direction," she said.

Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Project Takes on Abandoned Lots in Chicago

2007-03-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Olympic ambitions for lots

From: The Booster Wicker Park
January 24, 2007
By ANITRA ROWE Staff Writer
Sean Parnell of Wrigleyville is doing his part to get Chicago ready for its 2016 Olympic bid.

Parnell doesn't have millions for a new temporary stadium. But he does have a plan to turn abandoned Chicago properties into points of community pride.

And Parnell believes that this local activism could help transform Chicago over the next decade -- creating more complete streetscapes that would impress the likes of the visiting International Olympic Committee, and strengthen the city.

Parnell is compiling a list of Chicago's most ugly, dangerous and neglected properties for his "Chicago Abandoned Lot Project."

His initial goal is to fix up five properties by March 22, but Parnell also has committed to tackling troubled properties in the long-term.

Parnell worries that when the IOC visits Chicago, and travels through the areas on the South Side where the Olympics might be held, the blighted areas they see "may lead them to think that Chicago may not be up to the world standard set by previous Olympic cities."

"I think the Olympic Committee holds American cities to a higher standard and may not perceive Chicago up to that standard," Parnell said.

Outside of Olympic ambitions, Parnell said he also fears for those who live near the wide swaths of vacant land that stretch across the South Side and the West Side's abandoned buildings.

In his youth, Parnell said he found these landscapes "strangely intriguing."

But now Parnell said he knows how dangerous blight can be. And as a marketing consultant with experience in research and networking, Parnell thinks he can do something about it.

Parnell's project is an outgrowth of a leadership seminar he's taking through the international Landmark Education program. Chicago's Landmark Education office is at 820 N. Orleans.

Parnell said his role in the lot transformation process will be one of a catalyst and a plan maker.

After putting together his list of community eyesores, and "whittling down" the options to an initial five, he'll contact the property owners and talk to them about their development plans.

Then, Parnell said he will offer to help the property owners make their sites the best they can be.

That could mean locating a buyer or developer for the site, Parnell said, or finding a development compromise that's agreeable to neighboring properties, where previous plans may have failed.

Parnell said lots are abandoned for a variety of reasons. The property at hand could be at the center of a law suit, he said, or the landowner might be waiting for the property to increase in value.

But while a property sits neglected, Parnell said it often become a magnet for garbage, graffiti, gang activity and drug dealing. When abandoned properties catch fire, a number of additional hazards are presented, he said.

Each site Parnell approaches will have different development possibilities, he said. Some will work best as neighborhood gardens or parks, while others could be developed to serve community needs, such as grocery stores, hair salons and restaurants.

Parnell said many abandoned North Side lots -- and lots on the near West and South sides -- have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years, as gentrification has pushed up and out from the city's center.

While the change has been largely positive, Parnell said many people also have been priced out of these neighborhoods.

By working with communities near the lots he undertakes, Parnell said he'll focus on improving sites without displacing those who live nearby.

For more information about Parnell's project, visit www.seanparnell.com, or to recommend a property, e-mail Parnell at parnellsf@hotmail.com.

New Zealand Landmark Education Graduates Bring Clean Water Project to Zambia

2007-03-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Bringing joy to the world ...

From the The Star
Canterbury, New Zealand
14.03.2007
By AMANDA LEGGE
Les and Bridgette Richards no longer have concerns about an empty future without children.

The Bromley couple, who had been trying to conceive since they married in 1999, will not only have their own child next month – they are also helping make the lives of children in Zambia a whole lot better.

Mr Richards, 39, is the planning manager for Tip Top and last year took on a personal project he called “Ice Creams for Africa”. The project was inspired by his participation in a course run by Landmark Education.

He originally wanted to bring joy to the children in Kafue, where the couple’s sponsored child Yvonne, 8, lives with her family, by sending them a container of frozen icecreams to try.

He emailed colleagues to see if they wanted to help. Nearly 30 came on board and the group then contacted ChildFund New Zealand for advice.
ChildFund told them the most pressing need in the Kafue Project where Yvonne lived was a clean water supply.

A target of $28,000 was set, to buy a “joy pump” – a children’s merry-go-round whose circular motion pumps water from a borehole to a tank.

At the same time as the project was kicking off, the Richards were having their last IVF treatment.

And now their baby daughter is due on April 9.

Mr Richards attributes the Landmark Education course with turning their lives around. Instead of focussing on themselves, they were taught to think about how they could help others. Good things seemed to eventuate since they took on that mindset.

So far “Ice Creams for Africa” has raised $7000.

# To find out more about the project see www.icecreamsforafrica.co.nz

Landmark Education offers Landmark Forum in Seoul South Korea

2007-03-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

EarthTimes.org

SAN FRANCISCO, Landmark Education is offering its flagship program, The Landmark Forum, in the Korean language for the first time on March 23, 24, 25, and 27 in Seoul, South Korea. With the launch of The Landmark Forum in South Korea, Landmark Education has expanded its operations to 25 countries.

Over the years, Seoul, a forward-thinking city of over 10 million people, has offered its citizen's state-of-the art technology in schools and set the standard of educational excellence throughout the country.

"We look forward to The Landmark Forum providing South Koreans with an opportunity to experience breakthroughs in effectiveness and communication," said Landmark Education's representative in Seoul, Hyunsu Cho.

According to Jerome Downes, Landmark Education's executive in Japan and Southeast Asia, "Offering The Landmark Forum in Seoul, South Korea, represents Landmark Education's commitment to making these unique programs available where there is a demand." Landmark Education also offers The Landmark Forum in simplified and traditional Chinese, Thai, Japanese, English, French, German, Hebrew and Spanish.

Landmark Education, founded in 1991, provides innovative personal growth and development programs to individuals, organizations, communities and institutions. With more than 50 offices in 25 countries, Landmark Education is a worldwide leader in the training and personal development industry, with more than 160,000 people participating in its programs each year. Landmark Education's more than 50 programs -- including its flagship course, The Landmark Forum -- are the products of extensive research, and produce breakthroughs in effectiveness and communication.

Landmark Education Grad Writes Book to Empower Women

2007-03-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Single Working Moms, A Journey to Greatness - Author Cheryl Parker Moves, Leadership Program

NEW YORK, March 14 /CNW/ -- With her recently self-published book,
"Single Working Moms, A Journey to Greatness," Cheryl Parker has added book
author to an already diverse repertoire of professional roles that includes
National Spokesperson for Organ Donation until 1999, President of Cheryl's
Mops and Dusters and Financial Services Consultant. "Single Working Moms, A
Journey to Greatness" is a work of empowerment and inspiration -- inspired by
Cheryl's life experiences -- that chronicles the lives and victories of other
single moms and addresses topics ranging from grieving relationships through
loss and divorce to parenting and finances. The book also serves as an
instructive resource by offering expertise on issues including: Promoting
Yourself Back into the Workplace, Decorating on a Dime, Time Management,
Organizing Our Kids, and Healthy Snacks In Minutes.
Confronted by the unexpected death of her eight-year-old daughter Rachel
in 1998, Cheryl left her corporate career in Telecommunications in search of a
path that would impact her community and make a difference. Four years later,
Cheryl was busy juggling three businesses and raising her son, but felt
hampered by personal obstacles that were preventing her from living a life of
inspiration and empowerment. Following a friend's recommendation, Cheryl
completed the Landmark Forum in February of 2006 and enrolled in Landmark's
Self Expression and Leadership Program that June. While in the Self-Expression
and Leadership Program, Cheryl discovered that her ultimate life goal was "to
create something that could empower and inspire women to create abundance and
vitality in their lives." On November 24th, 2006, Cheryl made her dream a
reality with the publication of "Single Working Moms, A Journey to Greatness."
Cheryl remains an active public speaker and advocate for single mothers and
has committed part of the proceeds of her book to local women's organizations.
To learn more about "Single Working Moms, A Journey to Greatness" or to
contact Cheryl for public speaking engagements, please visit her website at
http://www.cherylsmopsanddusters.com.

Landmark Graduate Creates Opportunity for Children to Give Books to Other Children

2007-03-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Reprinted from RecordBreeze.com

Glo. Twp. students give books 'from the heart'

Books recently took on a different meaning for students at Loring-Flemming Elementary School in Gloucester Township.
The school launched its first "Books from the Heart" this year. The project asked students to bring in a book for needy children in Camden.
"Books from the Heart" began in January and ended last week. Through the drive, the school collected 1,155 books.
"The goal was 500. We went far above what I expected," Lisa Bair, a second-grade teacher at Loring-Flemming, said.
Bair introduced "Books from the Heart" to the school as part of a "personal education."
"It's called Landmark Education. I had to develop a project that would benefit people in my world," she said.
Bair explained the core meaning of the "Books from the Heart" project.
"The purpose for the students here was to teach them about generosity and compassion. It was to also give something to students who have nothing," she said.
As part of the project, students could only donate new children's books. To purchase those books, they needed to complete a chore at home to earn money, Bair said.
"We sent home a form asking parents how many books they would donate," she added.
So, students cleaned their rooms, washed the dishes, and took out the trash frequently - all to earn an allowance needed to participate in "Books from the Heart."
"It taught them responsibility," Bair said.
Students donated books that were appropriate for their age level to the project, Bair said. The final 1,155 books were delivered to Sumner School in Camden last week.
"The reaction was lovely," Bair said.
Bair attributed the overwhelming response to a desire to give embedded in Loring-Flemming Elementary School.
"We have a very generous population here," she said.
Bair indicated that she hopes to continue "Books from the Heart" next year.
"We may end up getting it district-wide," she said.

Self- Expression and Leadership Program Project Works to Stop Child Labor

2007-03-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

Landmark Graduates and Jewelry Business Owners Launch a Clear Concicence Project

See Coverage on KTVU News Oakland, CA

Lori Bonn Designs, a 15-year old jewelry business based in Oakland, CA, founded by Lori Bonn Gallagher and operated by her husband, Bill Gallagher, has launched a long term industry project called Clear Conscience jewelry and accessories that will provide the consumer a choice to purchase products that are environmentally neutral and socially positive.

For years, the Gallaghers have been concerned about the environmental and social impact of mining gemstones and the production of jewelry. By creating a clear standard in the industry, Lori Bonn Designs goal is to build both consumer demand for “Clear Conscience” products as well as increase the available sources of responsible materials and manufacturing. It is their hope that their program will lead to a standard in the industry for Clear Conscience jewelry and accessories.

The Kimberley Process is a start but it only applies to diamonds and focuses on reducing conflict diamonds. Lori Bonn Designs is interested in gems of all colors and in the metal-smithing and manufacturing process that goes into the entire jewelry making process -- from mining to manufacturing. They would like to be able to say that their product did not fund a war, had a positive impact on the communities it came from and was environmentally neutral.

Lori Bonn Designs has turned down producing their goods in shops and factories that had poor, unhealthy or questionable working conditions.

To assist in their project, the Gallaghers are seeking advice, support and participation of suppliers, other designers, retailers, educational institutions and consumers. Once adopted, anyone purchasing a Clear Conscience product will know that the item was produced in a responsible manner without harm to the environment or the people in the communities from which it came. Lori Bonn Designs are talking with producers, retailers, and development partners now to develop the first proposed standard.

Lori Bonn Designs recognizes that while there are jewelry and accessory products that are made and come from responsible sources, not all are produced in this manner. The concern of the Gallagher’s is that there are many communities around the world that have been harmed by the environmental impact of material production and have had negative social impact from unsafe and unfair labor practices.

Without a standard, the average consumer has little way of knowing the impact of their purchases. Misdirected consumer backlash due to lack of knowledge or misinformation could even harm communities that can least afford it. Clear Conscience accessories creates the possibility that an informed consumer and a cohesive, aligned industry will have a positive impact on the communities which we trade and give consumers a “clear conscience” when purchasing their baubles, bangles and beads.

See the coverage on KTVU News Oakland, CA

Landmark Graduate Creates Project to Allow Policy Makers and Welfare Recipients to Truly Understand Each Other

2007-03-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

How the Other Half Lives: "Walk a Mile" dares welfare policymakers and welfare recipients to swap lives

How's this for a devastatingly simple solution to an age-old social problem? While Natasha Grossman was studying social work and interning at a welfare-reform lobbying organization in Washington state, she saw first-hand the cultural gap that existed between welfare policy-makers and welfare recipients.

"Why can't members of each group spend time together learning about how the other works and lives?" Grossman asked. After participating in one of Landmark's community-focused programs, Grossman answered her own question by forming the "Walk a Mile" program, which is now used in the U.S. Congress as well as 25 states.

During the month-long program, welfare policymakers agree to feed their families on a typical food-stamp budget. They also chat with welfare recipients twice a week on the phone about recent challenges. Lawmakers learn the effects of their legislation on people's lives, and welfare recipients experience the difficult work of crafting new social policy. "Walk a Mile" has graduated many proponents, including legislators who testify to being more informed about the adversities poor people face and recipients who can claim better, more appropriate services, as well as a newfound political voice.

"I'm not the sort of person who does things like this, really," Grossman concedes. "I'm not an expert on welfare. I have never been a welfare recipient. Had it not been for the coaching, project management skills, and confidence I learned through Landmark's program, "Walk a Mile" would have remained a good idea, nothing more. I'm just someone who got passionate and took action."

Landmark Education graduate creates photography workshop for children of cancer patients

2007-03-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

Learning center for cancer patients' children teaches new frames of reference

Seattle Times
March 1, 2007
By Alan Berner Staff Photographer

Through My Eyes, Photography taught to kids at Hutch Cancer Research Center
Hutch School

A camera company used to advertise, "You push the button, we do the rest" — as if good photography comes from a machine instead of the head, heart and eye.

The camera in our culture has led to the perfection of the snapshot — small, stiff figures, standing against a flat background. But photography that connects and elicits an emotional response comes first from within.

That shows at the Hutch School, a one-of-a-kind learning center for children of patients with blood cancers, and sometimes for the young patients themselves. Youngsters in grades K through 12 from across the country attend the school for a time, most of them for more than three months, while a family member receives bone-marrow or stem-cell transplants through the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Two volunteers, Jerry Gay and David Whelan, taught three classes in photography there last month. Their students take pictures of each other so they can give family members a framed portrait. (Gay is a former Seattle Times staff photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner. Whelan is a high-tech corporate executive and former studio photographer.) Students in a recent class had 27 black-and-white frames to work with on donated point-and-shoots. They learned to get close, eyeball-to-eyeball, explore patterns, fill frames and not to be afraid of trying new angles. They took their "photo safari" to a park and the roof of the school with youthful abandon and creativity.

One of Whelan's goals was for "the students to use photography to share their world with each other." For Gay, it's "not just what they see but how they see, and that they can make a difference."

They photographed contrails in the sky, street signs and their shoes, but mainly each other.

Mandi, 13, from Bellingham, was "surprised. It made me look at different points of view and express myself ... that by looking at one thing, so much could be going on."

In the end, they learned by practicing a maxim from legendary photographer Robert Capa: "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough."

Landmark Education Grad brings Muslims and Non Muslims together to paint peace mural

2007-03-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

The Muslim Observer, Regional, Houstonian

Painting for Peace at Rice University Houston Texas

Houston Muslims are working with their fellow non-Muslims to paint several paintings representing Peace and Unity. The paintings will be displayed on Saturday, August 5th at the Rice University Ley Student Center (Farnsworth Pavilion) at 11 a.m. The exhibition will remain at Rice University through August 25, 2006. There is no admission fee.

The project was created by Dr. Imrana Malik, a Houston physician. “As a Muslim, I feel very heavy-hearted about the negative view of Muslims and Islam today,” Dr. Malik said. “The tragic and unfortunate ‘reality’ is that Muslims are viewed as violent individuals based on the actions of a few radicals. Working with our fellow neighbors to paint these paintings is an expression of our stand for Peace and Unity. We are hoping to make this into an annual event, as well as get national involvement by reproducing this effort in other US cities, such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.”

Dr. Malik developed this project, while participating in a Landmark Education leadership program, the coursework for which included creating a project that benefits the community (www.landmarkeducation.com).

For more information, call 832-563-0199 or E-Mail ImranaM@HotMail.Com

Link to Original Article
Murals for Peace Website

London Times Article about Landmark Education

2007-03-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

Recently a London Times reporter did the Landmark Forum and wrote about her experience.

From The Sunday Times December 17, 2006

Managing my inner brat
When Helen McNutt went on a personal development course, she was hoping for sympathy over her failed relationships. The truth was harder to take

It’s Friday morning. It has been nearly three weeks since I finished with my boyfriend of five and a half years. I’m at a seminar called the Landmark Forum, standing in front of a microphone in a room of 150 strangers, answering the questions of a bespectacled Australian called David. He has asked me what area of my life I want to change. I have answered “relationships”; specifically, that I don’t want future ones to work out as my last one did. My boyfriend didn’t love me, I said; also, he tried to control me.
“So, Helen, give me an example of your boyfriend trying to control you,” says David.

“Well, a few weeks ago ... God, this sounds really stupid.”

“Don’t worry, it always does.”

“Okay, so we were catching the train. I was starving and didn’t have any money on me, so I asked him for 50p for a packet of crisps, and he said no. He didn’t want me to get crisps because afterwards, I’d moan I was fat.” (Also, he thought we’d miss the train — I leave this bit out.) “Then what happened?” “I got really angry because he was trying to control me.”

“Then what?” “Erm, I stole his Mars bar.”

From the crisp incident, we unpick my relationship, which involves — you guessed it — going back to my childhood. I tell David about my dad, who worked ridiculously hard when I was young and who I felt I didn’t see much of. Whenever he was around, I resented him telling me what to do. But the way I framed it, he was never there and he didn’t love me. In my head, I’d grown up hating the feeling of being dominated, and associated it with people not loving me.

As we talk this through at the seminar and I answer some more questions, it dawns on me that I’ve been playing out the relationship I had with my dad with my boyfriend.

“I’ve been a brat, haven’t I?” David nods and hands me some tissues.

This is not what I expected. Most personal development work is about making you realise how great you are. It seems someone forgot to tell this to Landmark. I am made to realise that neither my boyfriend nor my dad ever stopped loving me — that was just my interpretation. One of Landmark’s key tenets is that most of the stuff that happens means absolutely nothing in itself — we add meaning to it. The meaning we give is largely based on what happened to us during our childhood; it’s rarely grounded in reality. I therefore take my boyfriend’s “no” to mean, “I don’t love you”. Realising that I am a brat, a seven-year-old girl stuck inside a 27-year- old’s body, is surprisingly liberating.

Now, I know about relationships. I make my living writing about them. I speak to experts, read their books and go to their seminars. I know that nobody can be more or less than 50% responsible for a relationship, that falling in love is just hormones, and that the only way to make a relationship work long-term is to re-create it moment by moment. I thought I’d applied all this wisdom to my own relationship, but I realised I had only talked about it.

So, I call my ex-boyfriend. I tell him I’m sorry, that I’ve been a brat and that I love him. He agrees, and tells me he is still angry with me. Then I call my dad and say the same things: he is lovely about it.

During the rest of the seminar, we work through other issues. We uncover the traits that have made us successful and those that have held us back. And we work out what stories we’ve been telling ourselves that have been running our lives for us. It’s not hugging your inner child. It is acknowledging that what happened when you were young shaped you into who you are today. And then getting over it.

When you begin to examine your behaviour in a rigorous way, you see that things you always thought were “their fault” are at least partly yours. Although this is initially uncomfortable, it is also empowering — victims can’t change things, perpetrators can. So, throughout the weekend I’m back on my mobile, contacting friends, ex-friends, family, even my dad’s ex-fiancé, cleaning up the past and letting these people know I love them. Scary? Yes, but the people I speak to are delighted.

A few days later, I meet up with my ex. We sit down, and, as you do in post-relationship analysis, he begins to go through everything I did wrong. I now understand that I am just as responsible as he is for the breakdown of our relationship, that he did love me and that he was a saint to put up with as much as he did. Instead of “yeah, buts”, I simply nod and apologise. I don’t want to go back — all the seminars in the world won’t alter the fact that we’ re not right for each other — but the last thing we say to each other is, “I love you.” That seven-year- old girl? She’s finally been put to bed.

Link to Original London Times Article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/newspapers/sunday_times/style/article663180.ece

Dr. Bert Peterson Speaks About Landmark Forum and Landmark Education

2007-02-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Retired teacher still educating others

2007-02-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Originally printed inthe New Jersey Star-Ledger

BY MICHELE HOWE
Star-Ledger Staff

Harvey Silverman retired from teaching in 1995.
Sort of.
Like many retirees, the former educator, who taught fourth and sixth grades in the New York City school system, stays busy giving of his time and talents. An occasional substitute teacher at Franklin High School in Somerset, he is currently helping immigrants learn to speak English.
"I got involved with Landmark Education, a self-expression leadership program, in June. Everybody had to develop a nonprofit program --a niche situation -- and I decided to help immigrants learn English," said Silverman, of Somerset.
"The course, which I took in South Plainfield, ran from June to October. I developed my project during the third week of the class, named it Speakeasy, and came up with a plan to offer the training to people during their lunch hour because I discovered that a lot of them don't have time to go to a school or to attend a formal literacy program," he added.
Silverman began by teaching Graciella Rosales, a Peruvian woman who was living and working in New Jersey.
"My wife and I live in a complex that has condos and private houses, and Graciella cleaned the condos. She's from Peru and was living with a son in Hillsborough at the time. When she came here, I noticed she didn't speak much English. I speak some Spanish, so I asked her if she'd like help learning English and she said yes," he said.
After a trip to his local library to obtain books on how to speak English and purchasing a book titled "English in Ten Minutes a Day," Silverman began tutoring her a half hour a day, five days a week, for several months.
"I started by helping her learn the names of everything she worked with -- a broom, a mop, the vacuum, etc., and expanded from there. Graciella has gone back to Peru until April and has taken the book with her in order to teach her family there," Silverman said.
He also began placing flyers about the Speakeasy project in town and in neighboring communities.
"I've started getting calls from people interested in learning English and people in my complex and elsewhere who wanted to volunteer their time to teach. I also visited the Stein Assisted Living Residence in Somerset and talked to Susan Kalatan there about having some of the residents volunteer to teach people interested in learning. As it turned out, some of the employees wanted help," he said.
The in-house literacy program at the assisted living residence began on Oct. 4. The residents and staff work together once a week whenever time permits.
"This is a great opportunity for the residents because they have a wealth of knowledge they're willing to share and it helps their quality of life. It's also a great thing for the staff who are being helped -- African aides and Hispanic kitchen staff and housekeeping workers who are now able to set aside a few minutes during their break once a week to learn. Of course, it varies -- sometimes it's five or 10 people, sometimes more depending on whether they can set aside time. But whatever we can do to help it's worth it," said Kalatan, activities director of the facility.
"It's starting small and is a work in progress but I want the community to have this, so I'm hopeful it will continue to grow," Silverman said.
Interested persons can reach him at harveysilverman@optonline.com or (732) 873-3209. Information on Landmark Education can be obtained at www.landmarkeducation.com

A Fashionista Grows Up in Brooklyn

2007-02-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn, New York— Brooklyn-based fashion designer Aja Calvitti announced today her collaboration with the 1City Youth Project , an innovative not-for-profit youth service agency dedicated to providing free programs, activities and services to inner-city youth. The agency, now celebrating its 17th year of service, has provided free programming to more than 2000 youth in New York City with no major sources of funding.

Each Saturday in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Calvitti assists high school girls in the “Fashion Club”, one of the many programs sponsored by 1City. The club has been tasked with creating a clothing line in collaboration with the agency’s modeling club. The class, which focuses not only on the creative underpinnings of the fashion world but also on its practical application in the realm of business, culminates with a fashion show of student work in June. Calvitti’s status as an up-and-comer in New York City’s rarified fashion arena grants her access to some of the city’s most illustrious young talent. As such, she has rallied her contacts to bring in a range of guest speakers whose fresh and seasoned voices are valuable assets to 1City’s youth. The speakers address questions relating to garment construction for the student fashion show and provide constructive commentary about pursuing a career in fashion design.Calvitti created the project as a means of mobilizing the community while participating in a Landmark Education leadership program. Landmark Education is an international training and development company, renowned for their flagship course The Landmark Forum ( www.landmarkeducation.com ).“I found design while taking a home economics class in the 7th grade and it inspired me to pursue a career in fashion,” says Calvitti. “Now I’m paying it forward by volunteering with this group of girls. My hope is that my contribution might not only inspire, but also provide the tools necessary to help them follow their dreams in design.”"1City has been a part of my life since I was 15 years old. Every child and volunteer has a special and unique story. With all of our differences, the one thing that unites us all is our "City". Everyone who is part of 1City blesses me tremendously by just coming around every week and showing their commitment. I am deeply grateful to be able to give back what 1City has given to me - a home, a sense of purpose and a family!" Rev. Dr. Leisa Williams.www.basic.i8.comMedia

Contact:Aja Calvitti 973-768-3805ajacalvitti@yahoo.comA FASHIONISTA GROWS UP IN BROOKLYN

Submitted by
Aja Calvitti

Donating Food Instead of Dumping it.

2007-01-31T20:20:00.000-08:00

Changing laws so surplus food can be given to the hungry Picture a few food industry workers hanging out at 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and you probably don't envision the kind of conversation Guido Pozzebon, Francisco Valles, and Claire Nikakas had a few years ago. One night after their Landmark Advanced Course, Pozzebon says, the three stayed up late “talking about all the wasted food in our industry and how it could be given to the needy and underprivileged of Melbourne.”Pozzebon, Valles, and Nikakas banded together after that night to form One Umbrella, an organization dedicated to ending hunger in Australia by rescuing potentially wasted food. In order to jumpstart the organization, Pozzebon set about getting a Good Samaritan law passed through the Victorian State Parliament that would allow people and organizations to donate surplus food stocks and supplies.“The law previously did not protect the donor,” Pozzebon explains. “People were open to legal liability and as such they would not donate good food but instead they dumped it.”The law was officially passed last October, and other states in Australia are now in the process of passing their own Good Samaritan laws. To date, One Umbrella has helped feed more than 200,000 disadvantaged people with food that would have gone to a landfill if not for its efforts.“Through Landmark, I've realized that I am a leader, that I can produce results, and that it's a privilege to make a difference in the quality of life for others,” Pozzebon says.
See more articles about Grads Making a Difference.

Copyright © 2006 Landmark Education LLC. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is provided for your personal use only. Any other use, reproduction, modification or further distribution is expressly prohibited under national and international copyright laws. No quotes from these materials may be used in any way in whole or in part without prior written permission.http://www.landmarkeducation.com/

Landmark Education Offers Its Flagship Program - The Landmark Forum - To New York's Chinese Community

2007-01-24T18:28:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, Jan. 17 /-- Landmark Education will offer a Mandarin-translated Landmark Forum on January 19, 20, 21, and 23 at the New York Center in its latest effort to offer its programs to the international community. There are over 300,000 Chinese-Americans residing in New York City.

According to Armand DiCarlo, Landmark Education Center Manager for New York City, the upcoming Landmark Forum "acknowledges the importance of providing The Landmark Forum to yet another culturally rich New York community," and furthermore, this step "is consistent with Landmark Education's commitment to being a truly international enterprise."

The Landmark Forum is currently offered in six languages: English, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, and Spanish. While The Landmark Forum is already offered in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, this New York Landmark Forum is the first to be translated into Mandarin here in the United States.

About Landmark Education -- http://www.landmarkeducation.com/
Landmark Education, founded in 1991, provides innovative personal growth and development programs to individuals, organizations, communities, and institutions. With 60 offices in 21 countries, Landmark is a worldwide leader in the training and personal development industry. Landmark's more than 40 programs -- including its flagship course, The Landmark Forum -- are the products of extensive research and produce breakthroughs in effectiveness and communication.

What is The Landmark Forum all about?

2006-11-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Benefits of the Landmark Forum

The Methodology of the Landmark Forum

The Syllabus of the Landmark Forum

The Accomplishments of Landmark Graduates

The Landmark Advanced Course

The Landmark Curriculum for Living