New Earth

In 2004, social activist and educator Dr. Harry Grammer and his wife, Yana Simone Grammer, co-founded New Earth to mentor and empower at-risk youth in probation camps, group homes, juvenile halls, continuation schools, and public schools throughout Los Angeles County. Each year at the organization's Leadership Center in Culver City, 800 young people benefit from a myriad of services, programs, interventions, and support that foster a commitment to work, education, family, and a community that puts youth on a trajectory of lifelong success. New Earth encourages young people from the ages of 13 to 25 to reimagine their lives, move toward positive life choices, and discover their talents as future leaders of tomorrow.

New Earth's initiatives prepare students to re-enter their communities as future leaders. Down to Earth is a therapeutic gardening program taught in probation camp schools throughout Los Angeles County and at New Earth's Leadership Center, while Beyond Boundaries offers New Earth alumni an opportunity to join camping trips and wilderness expeditions to experience a quiet retreat and consider life choices. New Earth's programming and services produce tangible results with young people who come from communities with high concentrations of poverty, violence, and gang activity. Seventy percent of youth released from juvenile detention facilities in Los Angeles County are rearrested within the first year of their release, compared with less than seven percent of youth served by New Earth. Over the years, New Earth has been responsible for countless new beginnings.