She writes how she did the Landmark Forum about 20 years ago and how sher ability to produce results and have great relationships have been greatly enhanced. She also notes that her husband recently completed the Landmark Forum and he has also been positively affected.

“It helped me to live unafraid, heal self-misconceptions created in my past, have amazing relationships and to believe anything is possible,” she says.

Here is a link to the Passion Miner blog.

In her most recent fundraising message, she says that the Special Olympics isn’t “just a sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities, but really a catalyst for social change. Special Olympics helps those who participate to grow mentally, socially and spiritually, all the while discovering courage, enthusiasm and new found talents.”

Her passion has motivated thousands of generous people to donate over the last years – this year’s icy plunge in Lake Michigan is the 10th annual event, taking place on March 10. To make a contribution or read the comments of the many contributors to her plunge this year, visit Kramer’s donation page.

Also visit the Special Olympics team page for this year’s plunge.

The story notes that Natasha Botello, who is a University of Texas graduate, actually created a whole organization devoted to getting rid of the stigma surrounding mental illness, and that the ‘Unmask Yourself’ event was a result of that program. The May 1 event will be co-hosted by the Capital Area Mental Health Center, whose executive director, Elaine St. Marie, said the organization was thrilled to be part of the fundraiser/awareness event, which she described as a great cause.

Botello and others note that people suffering from mental illness aren’t considered a well-known cause, a place for people to make a difference, which she hopes to change.

The May 1 event is Botello’s project in the Landmark Education SELP program. Here is the link to the North Texas Daily article by Nicole Landry.

“Blind Spot came from Landmark Education’s distinction around something that runs our lives but we don’t see it.”

Visit Long and Short Reviews (link above) to learn more about what inspires Romaine’s writing and what she thinks it takes to be successful in this field.

Sylvan lives in Pickering now, having lived with Malvern, a community n the northeast of Toronto, for five years.

INSPIRED

“I remember when my daughter graduated from Pearson High in 1996. I saw the top awards going to kids from families that were stable, that fostered a family culture of discipline, hard work and study. You could actually see the awards for top academic achievement going to these kids from these families. It was a wakeup call for me. It started my desire to do something for the youths of Malvern. I noticed this. If I could help families in the community build and provide good social structures, many kids would not be lost through the cracks. So I made that choice to dedicate myself to seeing that families and youths develop and nurture good social structures,” Sylvan said.

He said he recognized that a high percentage of parents were not engaged with their children. “There seemed to be huge parental apathy towards school children in the area. And you could see and recognize the kids from well-structured families – that they were excelling at academic pursuits. I saw kids at that graduation whose parents did not even show up for them. The ones getting the awards all had their parents there cheering them on. Kids do not do well if their parents are not there for them and don’t care for them as they should. Some parents do not even bother to show up at parent teachers’ meetings,” he said.

That experience sparked one man to make a difference. Thirteen years later, he has become the champion of kindness and care, reaching out his hand not only to his local community, but even to international poverty relief.

That is what one person with a good heart can do with his life. Jerome Sylvan has proven that the individual is a powerful force for good.

Today, he is wrapped up in his role at Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services. The work is challenging. Fundraising to carry out the social programs and to mobilize volunteers and hire necessary skills has proven to be tiring, though there have been some successes. In a remarkable demonstration of the humility of this man’s heart, he continues to develop his leadership and self-expression skills and project execution ability.

He is currently registered in an intensive training program at Landmark Education.

“I want to see Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services increase its membership. And I want to see the organization develop the sound structures that would help it fulfill its mandate to the community. We have a number of consultants who are working to streamline the operation and refine our systems. We have a vision to build into the lives of youths in education, culture and the arts. I want to see us run programs for groups of parents to teach parenting skills, to offer anger management counseling, to develop a sound economic training center – to teach parents and young people about budgeting, money, and so on. These basic essential life skills are lacking to a major degree. That’s the intent of the organization. We are even venturing into advocacy for kids in the school system. Right now we are still in the setting up phase, which will take about the rest of this year. But we are excited and inspired. The work has started and momentum is building. I know we will transform this community, and help young people and their parents know that they have the power to transform their lives to play their roles as good, wholesome citizens. And that possibility of transformation and power drives me one today,” Sylvan said.

Body O Soul will host a charity event benefiting The Kposowa Foundation.  10% of all sale proceeds will be donated to Foundation. There will be food and beverages, door prizes and DJ entertainment for a fun filled night!  Come and join the fun!

The Kposowa Foundation is a non profit organization dedicated to raising funds to rebuild Bumpe High School and provide education for the children of Sierra Leone.

For more information pleast contact Body O Soul at 562-853-1600.  See you there!

Body O Soul Fundraising Event
5223 E. 2nd Street
Long Beach, California

Friday, February 26, 2010
6:00pm – 10:00pm

Jerome Sylvan strives to transform community

by Shawn Michael Samaroo

Jerome Sylvan lives every day, every moment to bring “transformation and power” to the lives of others.

“I have made the choice to dedicate my life to community service. Across this country, we can see transformed communities – people living powerfully to share their lives with their neighbors, and other people. I want to see a society of kindness, of service,” he said when The People Today Chronicle interviewed him for this story.

Sylvan wears many hats – devoted church member serving at the Agincourt Pentecostal church in Toronto; family man with two teenage sons still at home; technician in the IT department at Bell Canada where he has worked for more than 20 years; chairman of the Board at the Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services; president of his own company dedicated to training youths in entrepreneurship; co-chair of a national prayer breakfast group that organizes prayer breakfasts to pray for Canada’s leaders and for the nation; husband to his wife Barbara – they have been married for more than a quarter century.

GENTLE

A tall man who wears a beard but prefers to shave his head for the bald look, Sylvan looks like a tough ex-football player – big and commanding in his presence. Yet, when he talks his voice distinguishes him as a gentle giant – a man with a soft, gentle heart who keeps his voice just above a hoarse whisper, and to whom anyone can turn for a helping hand.

Jerome Sylvan, in fact, believes in brotherly kindness, community service, and empowering others.

In the 17 years that he has dedicated his life to community service, Sylvan traveled to far flung places such as Brazil, Senegal and Guatemala to build water wells for poor communities. He is planning to go on a trip in September, 2009 to Cambodia to help poverty relief efforts there.

This international work flows through his role at Agincourt Pentecostal church. This newspaper was present one day when Sylvan met with a group at the church to detail plans for a comfort and teaching ministry to prisoners at Toronto’s East Detention Centre.

His heart for service creates astonishing breakthroughs in various communities across Toronto and the poorer places of the planet.

Such people as Sylvan bring an energy, a zeal to life that inspires others to live nobler, to believe in a richer cause, to reach out in kindness and love. They bring to life the essence of human kindness.

At the Agincourt Pentecostal church, Sylvan has served faithfully for 22 years, rising to a leadership role. Every Sunday morning, with his wife Barbara and his two sons, he gathers with the congregation to sing, pray and exhort a life of righteousness, holiness and graceful giving.

He even serves on the Fellowship for Men, an outreach service that seeks to bring love and kindness to men in need. He serves on the prayer team, and as a communion server.

This man walks the streets of Toronto as an ordinary soul. He is unassuming and easy-going, with a ready smile and a pleasant demeanor. Beneath what one sees, however, is a powerful extraordinary spirit – a  man for the times who reaches out his hands offering compassion and care, leadership and service, dedication and heart. This newspaper tells his story because he inspires so much: what would the communities be without such men?

Sylvan’s heart is focused now at the Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services, a new community work that is struggling to establish itself as a portal for youth empowerment and transformation of the Malvern-Rouge Valley community.

“Malvern has picked up a bad reputation in the national press – as a place of violence and at-risk youth. The goal and mandate of Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services is to rejuvenate the community, to offer a way out for the people there. We want to see literacy rates rise. We want to see a violence-free community. We offer a range of services through the organization to bring the community to a place of respect, economic growth and sustained social cohesion,” Sylvan said.

He first started leading community grassroots efforts to revitalize social services when he cofounded the Positive Impact Foundation, a charity in the Greater Toronto Area. This was “years and years ago”. Then, with the founder, the late Robert Brown, he launched out in the work of Malvern Youth Club. That club has evolved into the Malvern rouge Valley Youth Services, a full-fledged government-registered charity that is designing a range of social programs – from a reading club and guitar classes to computer literacy training and youth entrepreneurial training.

Instead of having a single lecturer speaking to the audience, the day featured an innovative format – five clusters of tables with five different presenters, allowing a lot of discussion based on open-ended questions.

The event was held on November 26 and was a huge success, with response surveys indicating an overwhelming desire for more such events in the future.  About a dozen presenters ended up taking part, talking about topics ranging across a wide range of innovative new educational ideas.

]]> http://www.possibilitydirectory.com/2010/02/04/landmark-education-leadership-program-leads-to-curriculum-in-action-development-day/feed/ 0 http://www.possibilitydirectory.com/2010/01/27/knoxville-news-quotes-landmark-forum-leader-david-cunningham-on-dealing-with-finances/ http://www.possibilitydirectory.com/2010/01/27/knoxville-news-quotes-landmark-forum-leader-david-cunningham-on-dealing-with-finances/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:14:36 +0000 macaniff http://www.possibilitydirectory.com/?p=164 A recent column in the Knoxville News was based on the recommendations of Landmark Forum Leader David Cunningham in terms of how to powerfully deal with finances in today’s economy, while not getting upset or disrupting relationships.

In the article, columnist Susan Alexander notes the 10+% unemployment in the United States and that the challenging economic conditions mean a lot of stress on individuals and familes.

He then cites Cunningham’s ideas on listing out the basic facts of what’s actually happened in one’s situation, then listing out what interpretation one is adding to the fact, and finally creating a sensible plan of action. Read the article yourself in this column of The Knoxville News.

Morrow notes that job fairs are often held, but not for people who just want to do something to make some supplemental income. The Expo is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, people can contact the Career & Life Transitions Center for Women at 908-835-2624 or email transitions@norwescap.com.