A year ago, Amy Schwartzbard's 14-year-old daughter was in trouble: She
was failing out of high school and making what her mom calls
"non-working choices." So Amy sent her daughter to a special school
for kids in crisis run by Premier Educational Systems. As part of the
program, Mom was required to take seminars too. She was so inspired by
the changes in her daughter, her family, and herself that she embarked
on a new career. Now she is dedicated to making the resources that
helped her family available to people in economically strapped
communities — starting with the Ninth Ward in New Orleans.

So your daughter was in crisis. Why did you end up going to classes too?

The
Premier schools don't believe that the child ended up in this situation
by herself. It's not about blame, but about all of us as a family
making choices that result in our child ending up in a school like
this. If you want the best possible result when your kid comes back,
changes need to be made as a family.

But you didn't stop with your own family.

I've been going through leadership training with the schools' sister company, Resource Realizations,
since March of last year. Four or five months before the training, I
had closed the boutique I had run for 14 or 15 years. I used to sell
high-end furniture and bedding, beautiful things, but my life was more
money driven. That's just not where I wanted to be. I found a
commitment to living life with joy and being of service to others.

How did you get involved with Katrina survivors in New Orleans?

With
each training, they ask [the students] as a group to do a community
service project. During September 2007, 34 of us formed LEEP (Leaders in Education, Empowerment, and Purpose), a nonprofit organization to help residents in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans.

Right after LEEP formed, we partnered with a local man named Ward
"Mack" McClendon, who had bought a 15,000-square-foot airplane hangar
that he wanted to turn into a community center. Instead of taking his
savings to rebuild his own house, he chose to give it to the community.
We shared his vision.

We're doing the whole renovation. The
huge main room is going to have a basketball court, also used for
events. Then there are smaller rooms with a computer lab and a library.


How is LEEP funding this?

We received over $100,000 in in-kind donations from Lowe's
in building supplies. And we've raised over $100,000 through things
like selling ornamental leaves that will be in the reception area to
acknowledge donors.

What role do you play?

I
took on planning the programs. We have programs based on what the
community needs. We're going to have a commercial-kitchen training
program and an apprenticeship program where residents can learn trades
like being a plumber. There will be mentoring programs.

I knew
this would be more than a 10-week commitment. The people in the Lower
Ninth Ward are still so depressed. They've lost everything: homes,
pets, family, neighbors, community. They're in a place where to some
extent there are people who don't want to get out of bed in the
morning. We decided to create this seminar, Breaking Through to
Possibilities, to inspire the community and get them life coaches. In
the summer, we're setting up Youth Leadership Camps for teens.

To
make that possible, I founded my own nonprofit, called Branching Out
Seminars, facilitated by Resource Realizations. We offer the same
seminars for paying clients, then we use some of the proceeds to fund
the seminars in disadvantaged communities.


Why did you start in New Orleans?

I was in South Florida for
Andrew, so I know what a community can go through when a hurricane
hits. But we're a very strong community and financially able to
rebuild. In the Ninth Ward, it looked like Katrina hit yesterday.

Whenever
you tell anyone about it, they say, "Isn't [rebuilding] the
government's job?" First of all, the government probably can't do it.
Anyway, they won't do it. So I have to ask, where do we, the people,
step up?