Landmark Education Graduates Help Homeless

Graduates of Landmark Education’s programs are often inspired to make a difference in their communities—Many have taken on doing something to impact homelessness and its effects in their areas. Here are summaries of a number of stories about this sort of project.nnnHomeless not ToothlessnnDr. Jay Grossman is a dentist in the Brentwood district of Los Angeles County. Since Dr. Grossman began “Homeless Not Toothless” in the Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Program, it has provided over one million dollars worth of free dental work through over 30 different dental practices in the Los Angeles area. Each of these dental practices has delivered the care without any financial compensation. Grossman’s work was featured on CNN and other documentaries: nnhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmSpyaRhY1AnnnHearts of FirennOjai musician Bob Ballard started “Hearts of Fire” while taking Landmark’s Power and Contribution course, a project dedicated to helping shift society’s perception of homeless people through artistic self expression. Ballard and his partners will be drove a mobile art and music studio to homeless shelters in Washington, D.C. and San Diego last October and November.nnThey took us deeply into their world. They accepted us as family and took us on a journey that I will never forget,” Ballard said.nnBallard continued the project through art showings in California earlier this year, and has received significant media attention for his efforts. Check out various videos about Ballard and Hearts of Fire.nnhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvr5ZlY8HvMnhttp://www.landmarkeducationnews.info/2007/09/27/hearts-of-fire-helping-fight-homelessness-through-art-and-music/nnnDonating Food—Not Dumping itnnPicture 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. 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. Read more:nnhttp://www.landmarkeducationnews.info/2007/01/31/donating-food-instead-of-dumping-it/nnnTrucken for KatrinannNot long after Hurricane Katrina hit, Sherrill Sundberg learned that one of her neighbors had four separate family members who each lost their homes. She was participating in the Landmark Team Management and Leadership Program at the time and immediately knew what she was going to do for her project. nnHer initial project was named “Christmas in New Orleans”. It had an initial goal of providing “Christmas for the families of the four relatives of her neighbor. Each family was to be given a Christmas dinner and each member of the family was to be given new clothing and three gifts of their choice. nnWhile attending one of the weekends of the Team Management and Leadership Program she was challenged by another participant to expand the scope of her project. She accepted expanding her project to 10 families. Soon the program exploded to 25 families receiving ”Christmas in New Orleans” In total 92 people received “Christmas” and 250 families experienced the gift of generosity at Christmas. nnAs it turned out, this was just the beginning of an odyssey of contribution for Sherrill. After that first Christmas, Sherrill knew that the project had to continue in some way, as they had not even scratched the surface of what was needed. As of August 2007, four semi trailers had delivered durable goods to 32 families. nnNow two years after the start of the project, the project’s scope and what it needed in the Gulf Coast has not diminished. Read more about the details of Trucken for Katrina:nnhttp://www.landmarkeducationnews.info/2007/08/03/truckin-for-katrina-michigan-families-donate-adopting-families-on-the-gulf-coast/n