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Green Day Comes to Grass Valley

Jun 4th, 2010
by DJacoby.
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According to Oakland Local, a non-profit, independent, community news and information hub, a green day of environmental education is being held at Oakland’s Grass Valley Elementary School, out of the project created by Ilyse Opas in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Program.

The reason for the day is environmental education, creation and inspiration, and features a variety of workshops, crafts and musical activities.

The day is being held Saturday, June 5th, starting at 9:30 in the morning with a compostable waffle breakfast, for which a $5 donation is suggested. At 10 there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the new school garden. The garden actually began in the fall with planter boxes provided by the school’s Dad’s Club – student grown vegetables from the planter boxes will be on sale at the Green Day.

According to Opas, the project was designed to “create community, empowerment and education centered around caring for our planet and for each other.”

To find out more, call Opas at 510-879-1220. Here is the Oakland Local story.

Urban Gardens in Newburgh

May 24th, 2010
by DJacoby.
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The project created by Ross Topliff in Landmark’s SELP was recently spotlighted the Sentinel newspaper of Newburgh, New York. The project is to create urban gardens to feed families in need. Here is the article.

Urban Gardens Arrive in the City of Newburgh

by Courtney Bonfante

The city of Newburgh may not be known as a hotspot of horticulture, but one man is campaigning to add some green to the city’s landscape. Ross Topliff, a town of Newburgh resident, is currently enrolled in the Landmark Education Curriculum. A component to one of the courses is to reach out to people. Topliff drew upon his long-standing interest in gardening and Urban Bounty was born.

Urban Bounty is seeking to create two garden plots within the city so ten area families may grow their own produce. Topliff envisions the partipants as neighborhood residents who could walk to the garden sites, reap the benefits of fresh air and exercise, and lower their food bills by tending their plots.

The concepts and planning of Urban Bounty has been in the works since January. In addition to Topliff, Urban Bounty has the support of City Engineer Craig Marti, Debbie Lester of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Middletown, Claude Hortsman of the Masonic Lodge and Jennifer Rawlinson of the YMCA of Greater Newburgh. One location is expeced to be in Downing Park and another site on the south side of Broadway is currently being sought.

An organizational meeting is planned for Saturday, April 17 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the new YMCA, located at 377 Broadway (next to Bank of America) where participants may meet and greet, and take part in an orientation. There are still spots available for those wishing to participate in the program. Anyone wishing to develop their green thumb may contact Urban Bounty’s family coordinator, Jennifer Rawlinson, at 845-562-1088, extension 15.

Olga’s Beautiful Beings

May 20th, 2010
by DJacoby.
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olga's beautiful beingsOlga’s Day Spa, in Highland Park, IL, took on helping those affected by sexual assault and abuse with a free day of spa treatment, held April 29, in time to coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Created by Olga Nisenboim as her project in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Program, ‘Olga’s Beautiful Beings’ provided a full day of beauty and wellness to more than a dozen clients from the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center (a rape crisis and advocacy center).

In addition to spa services provided by Olga’s Day Spa, hair services were provided by Salon Vole, breakfast and lunch were provided by local eateries, and each person went home with a goody bag of skin care products and a plush teddy bear.

Nisenboim, who has been a strong supporter of the Zacharias Center, said she took on the project because she really wanted each woman to feel like a beautiful human being: “Their stories are inspirational…we hope small act of kindness will make them feel good inside and out.”

To learn how you can get involved, visit the website of Olga’s Beautful Beings, or contact Olga directly at olgasspa1@gmail.com.

Foster Hope Aids Kids

Apr 27th, 2010
by Julia Taylor.
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foster hopeWhen Louise Burnie Allnut took Landmark Education’s self-expression and leadership programme in New Zealand last year, she decided to make a difference for young people heading into foster care. Many children who are placed into new homes have no possessions except for the clothes they are wearing when they first arrive at their new foster home.

Allnut partnered with foster mother Sam Weir to give children something that was there own and for them to know someone cares about them. They combined to collect 500 teddy bears and 300 other soft toys through the Bears2Care and Cuddles2Keep organisations, and gave them away to foster kids through other organisastions.

Then Weir came up with the Kits2Kids concept, through which each young person got a kit of personal items. Weir also convinced Allnut that it was worth going through red tape to form their own non-profit, Foster Hope Charitable Trust. This enabled them to receive product donations from businesses all around New Zealand.

Child development expert Ngarie Wroslie has become part of the Foster Hope Team, coordinating donations into kits and making sure they are distributed to local foster care organisations.

To find out more or contribute to this worthy organisation, visit the website of Foster Hope now.

Doggy Day Out to Celebrate Canines

Apr 13th, 2010
by Julia Taylor.
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A project created in Landmark’s SELP in Ireland, ‘Doggy Day Out’, strives to celebrate dogs in a family friendly outing taking place on May 8, in Marlay Park in Dublin, from 12 to 4pm.

The outing, created by Carolyn Huey, gives dogs and their owners a chance to compete in a wide variety of events: a Temptation Tunnel, an Agility Demonstration, Certificates of achievement for a dog walkathon, Micro-Chipping, Dog Photography and more.

Funds raised from the event will benefit the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA), a charity formed in 1840. The DSPCA fights animal cruelty in every variety and provides mobile veterinary clinics – for more information, visit their website at www.dspca.ie.

As part of the day there is also an essay competition for young dog owners titled “How my lovely dog has brought fun into my life”. Those 13 years of age or less can enter this competition by mailing their entry of 100 words or less to Huey at:

Carolyn Huey, Doggy Day Essay Competition, 33 The Rise, Boden Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.

1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will have their entries copied and distributed to the day’s attendees. Huey is also looking for more volunteers to help put on the day – to get involved contact her at 087 993 8157.


Dance the Night Away Event Supports Troops

Mar 18th, 2010
by macaniff.
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An event titled ‘Dance the Night Away’ was held on January 30, raising money for Operation Shoebox New Jersey, a charity that sends personal care packages to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event was created by Kathy Thornton out of her participation in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Program.

The event, tickets to which cost $10, was held at the First Lutheran Church in Montclair, and featured DJ music, refreshments, and a variety of goods and services generously provided by local businesses and prizes and raffle offerings.

“Over the past year I have been looking at getting what I want out of my life and in doing so I have been taking courses with Landmark Education,” Thornton explained. “The course I am currenlty enrolled in is called the Self Expression and Leadership Porgram; in this course we are assigned to pick a community project that would make a difference in one of the communities in our lives. I cam up with 3 ideas for projects and this one is by far the most challenging.”

Thornton was influenced in her choice of project by having a stepfather, stepsister and stepbrother who all have served in the military. Visit the website of Operation Shoebox New Jersey to contribute or find out more about them.

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