As the first step and as her project in Landmark Education’s SELP, Goyal arranged a movie show for 180 children from Bangalore, which took place on 1st April at the Galaxy Theatre. The movie shown was Care of Footpath, which was chosen to relate specifically to the lives of the children attending – it’s about a child of humble beginnings who learns to excel in school and become educated.

Read about this initiative in more detail in at article from Bangalore’s Citizen Matters.

Earlier this year the first fundraiser for the group was held. Titled ‘Paint my Town with Heroes’, the event, held at the El Fandango restaurant in San Diego, used $40 tickets and a silent auction to raise money, and engaged in a conversation with attendees using visual media to explore what the program can provide for the community.

In addition to art techniques, Urban Heroes programs are about children having the leadership skills to create murals that enhance their communities. Find out more at the Urban Heroes blog.

‘Dream a Little Dream’ Art Camps launched

A series of art camps titled ‘Dream a Little Dream’ was launched in the city on Monday. The camps are aimed at touching the lives of hundreds of underprivileged children. The first art camp was held at APSA – Dream School, a voluntary organisation for underprivileged children at HAL. About 200 children participated in the one-day camp. The project is an initiative of Reena Chowdhury, an IT professional who wants to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children.

In addition, event organizers are requesting that people hang a string of colored lights or turn their porch lights on that night to bring attention to the idea of spotlighting abuse. According to the ‘Turn the Light On’ website, one in five children in the United States is sexually abused before they are 18 years old, and only 10% of the time is the abuser a stranger.

The ‘Turn the Light On’ site is also requesting donations, which will go to Shepherd’s Counseling Services, which provides for the needs of adult survivors of childhood abuse.

The event will feature survivor testimonials, community speakers and a range of musical performers – the live music begins at 6:30. Find out more information by going to the Turn the Light On site.

The Red Hat Society is an international organization inspired by a poem by Jenny Joseph which begins “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me”. The leader of each fun-loving group is called a queen; their clothing, regalia.

According to an article in The Dominion Post, ‘Queen Kinsa’, as Mrs. Hays is known in the group, saw a need for a such a group in Upper Hutt which would allow women to be social, be fully self-expressed, and take part in a variety of interesting activities. The first outing of the group featured a lunch at the Mayfair Cafe after a ride on the Silver Steam Rail.

Future events are also being planned – the group is considering a train trip to Wairarapa to visit antique shops, travel to  Akatarawa Valley and/or Matiu-Somes Island, or other shopping, pampering or shooting excursions.

The following article was written by Agnes Ginestet in August 25th Cook Strait News in New Zealand – it’s about the project Charlotte Clark created in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Programme to appreciate grandparents by having a Grandparents Day established in New Zealand.

Appreciating Grandparents

A 24-year old Thorndon resident is hoping to gather 50,000 signatures on a petition to create a National New Zealand Grandparents’ day.

Charlotte Clark says like Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, this would be an opportunity to celebrate who our grandparents are for us, to call them, to visit them, to let them know how amazing and how loved they are.

“That would just be amazing if we had something like that for grandparents. It is really big and exciting for me to think about something and think I can actually give it a go.”

She started this initiative as part of a self-expression and leadership programme at Landmark Education.

“We get to choose a community that we want to make a difference in, and create and lead a project in the community.”

She says grandparents play a role in communities by doing a lot of volunteer work, and they play a huge role in the families in terms of supporting their children and grandchildren.

“It is easy to forget to really acknowledge them for how amazing they are.”

Charlotte has one grandparent left, Helen, who lives in Tauranga and whom she sees twice a year.

“I just love her so much. Her and my granddad were always there. Grandparents are so warm. They are just so loving.”

Charlotte says she has contacted Grey Power Wellington and other organizations such as Girlguiding NZ and Scouts NZ to let people know about the petitions.

She would love that young people go in the community, and tell their friends and families about it.

“The more people hear about it, the easier it will be to happen.”

Sign the petition online here.

The project, titled ‘Baseball Blast for Kids’, applies to the game being held on Sunday, September 26th, between the Padres and the Cincinnati Reds. For that day, the Padres foundation is allowing the purchase of a ticket and a meal at half price for a child ($10.50 per person).

To raise donations and arrange for kids to be able to attend the game, Austin is partnering with the Jackie Robinson YMCA and people from the Vista Grande Community Church Men’s Fellowship in Tierrasanta. Austin and these groups are striving to allow children from Murphy Canyon Military Housing and Lincoln Park to attend the game.

“Everybody I know has great memories of the first professional baseball game they attended as a kid,” said Austin. “‘Baseball Blast for Kids’ will give that thrill to a lot of children who might not get the opportunity otherwise.”

For more information about the event, contact Austin at 858-775-8290 or rstevea@att.net.

Dance for Donations, which appears to be Evarts’ project from the self-expression and leadership program, is being held Sunday, September 12th at the Cabana Bar in St. Leonards, from 12-10pm. A $10 minimum donation is required.

A variety of performers will be there to perform or play for the cause, including DJ Libre, DJ Samrai, Carlito Bangs and many more. To find out the latest news, visit the Dance 4 Donations Facebook page(where 277 are currently confirmed as attending the event) – or go directly to this contributions page to give directly to Open Family Australia.

The event, the logistics of which were organized by Laura Boxhorn, was held in the afternoon at Minooka part and was covered in this previous story here at Leadership and Self Development. Watch the coverage from MTMJ News in the clip below.