Community at Life Development Institute occurs both inside and outside the classroom.  Students often spend time with each other, LDI faculty, and other members of the community in Phoenix, AZ.  Student life involves interactions through social events, community volunteering, and invaluable inter-personal growth.  Often times, the impact of community can be lost in the reality of day-to-day living.  Recently, however, LDI learned that its impact upon community reaches far beyond students, faculty, and the surrounding community.  

This past spring a family member of a Life Development Institute Alum contacted LDI on behalf of their daughter Lianna.  As it occurs, Lianna’s Uncle Gregg had attended and graduated from LDI.  Regretfully, Greg passed away a while after attending LDI.  However, he always spoke about his time with Life Development Institute and how it had so positively affected his life.  In response to this, Lianna desired to give back to LDI as part of her Bat Mitzvah.  Included below is excerpt from her speech wherein she describes how she is going to use this positive impact on Greg’s life to give back and show that LDI’s community truly leaves a lasting legacy.

As many of you know, as a small child I watched the movie Joseph and the Amazing Techna Colored Dream Coat until the VHS tape, yes you heard me, I said VHS tape, literally broke.  The story teaches that you need courage,
bravery, and passion to get you where you want to be.  This story has a special meaning to me today because it taught me to never give up no matter how hard the circumstances may be.

For my Mitzvah project, I chose to collect money for the school LDI where my Uncle Gregg attended, which helped him to become independent.  He had a rough start in life, born to a mother who died in childbirth.

My dad’s family adopted and cared for him for almost four decades until he passed away two years ago.  Uncle Gregg and I were close.  We went to the movies together about once a month.  We teased each other in good nature, and we enjoyed each other’s company.

Not everyone has the chance to have an Uncle like Gregg, and I wanted to be able to thank the school that helped him live on his own and support himself. I plan to reach out to many companies and have them have donate to families with loved ones in that school who need financial assistance.

The Jewish calling to fix the brokenness of our world means actively supporting those in need of help and healing, and now that I am old enough to really make a difference, I want to be proactive in this way.

Life Development Institute celebrates the life of Gregg together with his family and has already begun this journey with Lianna.  Truly, Gregg and his family bear witness to the lasting legacy that is obtained through the work of LDI.  Such a wonderful story acknowledges that value of LDI’s service and the greatest of realized potential found within its community of students and alumni.

For more information on how you can donate to students and families requiring financial aid, please visit www. http://ldieducationfund.org/  or call (623) 773-1545.