Today
I had the honor and the pleasure of meeting some outstanding people who are
clearly doing TOV and want to tell you about them.
Richard
Miles
founded Miles of Freedom – “Bridging the Gap from Prison and Promise.”
Richard was wrongfully convicted of murder and
aggravated assault and spent 15 years in prison before being exonerated.
Miles
of Freedom provides training, guidance, mentoring and a whole host of
other things for people making the adjustment to life outside prison -- Job Readiness program, Professionalism, Financial
Literacy, Group Therapy to EQUIP, EMPOWER AND EMPLOY ex-cons. He is a mensch with a beautiful heart and soul
who is making such a tremendous difference in so many lives. My friend Brad Boa introduced us and brought us
together to see how we can work with one another to move Dallas forward. I hope
to bring the TOV Center mission and TOV Model to others as a
new option for bringing people together to solve specific problems and resolve
issues.
Also met Alex Gillan of Vertical Life Farms, working
on helping people learn about producing their own food using Urban Aquaponics – solutions that grow food in an urban environment.
Visited one of my former students, Danny Nanasi and his great crew at Think
Branded Media doing excellent videos and other projects -- “We blur the line between an advertising
agency and video production company. Our core competency is conceptualizing and
creating video content. A decade of experience producing for brands and
agencies allows us to tell your story uniquely and authentically.”
I learned about Cafe Momentum, run by Chef Chad Houser who teaches at risk
kids every aspect of running a restaurant. Café Momentum’s program teaches
critical skills that allow youth to apply what they have been taught in
pre-release programs in a safe, real-world environment of nurturing
accountability. By participating in our program, at-risk young people rotate
through every aspect of the restaurant from waiting tables to washing dishes,
while working side-by-side with established chefs.
I
will keep you updated on all the TOVMAKERS I meet – people who are PROTECTING LIFE,
PRESERVING LIFE, MAKING LIFE MORE FUNCTIONAL, INCREASING THE QUALITY OF LIFE and
PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY OF ACTIONS.
Conflicting
and unexamined Beliefs, Opinions, and
Truths will never bring people together to make the world better. A TOV EMERGENCE – Networked People with Shared Time-Tested TOV Values and Standard that
puts Life First – has the potential power to produce systemic changes on that
magnitude!
If you liked this blog, please take a moment to visit the TOV Center Facebook Page and “Like It” -- click here .
If you would like to help us do
this work by making a donation or becoming a TOV Team Member and becoming part
of the solution – click here.
Shalom,
Rabbi
Jeffrey Leynor
