When Carmelita Tiongson-Manzanares of Los Angeles took a course with Landmark Education called the Team Management and Leadership Program last year, she had no idea what she was going to be involved in. A big part of participating in that program is fulfilling what is called a “Team Game in the World”, which is a project of some kind in the world, usually that makes a difference in other people’s lives, and which always involves a team to complete. Carmelita’s game took her on a personal journey that was one of the most fulfilling things she has ever done.
Carmelita decided to have her project be a musical, singing recital for senior citizens in old age homes and residential care facilities. The seniors would have the opportunity to perform their songs for an audience of their friends and families.
As Carmelita began to share her vision with people, a variety of people stepped forward who both inspired her and enhanced the project. For instance, when she shared about it with a senior citizen named Salermo, he surprised her by disappearing and then returning with an old guitar. He kept her spellbound by singing songs that he serenaded a beautiful woman named Nellie with years ago.
Sharing the project with Grace Lengkeek, the activity director of the Artesia Christian Home, was inspiring in a different way. Grace jumped right into the project, taking the idea and running with it, saying she had always wanted to do something like this. Carmelita was proud to have “given the idea away” to an extent.
There were setbacks along the way. The day before the event, one of the facilities involved backed out, and frustrated, Carmelita wanted to cancel the whole event. Through the support of her coach in the program, a woman named Meg, Carmelita stuck with it, realizing that whoever came would be perfect. Salermo was suddenly hospitalized before the event. Later, Carmelita drove to his house to pick him up to make sure that he would be there.
Salermo was one of the stars of the show, singing three songs in his own language and entertaining everyone with his stories. All the seniors sang along to all the songs, even those with dementia, even those who didn’t know the words. Three generations of families had an opportunity to express their love for each other and celebrate life together.
For Carmetlita, she had never experienced so much love and generosity. It was like a miracle for me. By giving up being right about how things had to look, she helped created a miracle of partnership – other people took care of themselves and came up with many of the ideas.
Carmelita and others are now inspired to take this idea to other facilities across the state – She is looking to meet with her congresswoman to see how she can make this happen.

John David is author of this article on Landmark Education.
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