CHRIS GARDNER VISITS GOVERNOR LINGLE TO DISCUSS OVERCOMING HOMELESSNESS
March 7 - Chris Gardner, whose
life story was recently published in an autobiography, and served as
inspiration for the movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness," visited Hawai`i,
where he met with Governor Lingle, homeless service providers, developers,
legislators and a homeless family to share his personal story and the
obstacles he overcame as a single homeless father to achieve success.
Participating in a national conference on homelessness via videoconference
from the Governor’s office, Gardner shared how like so many other working
poor in America, he had a job, but could not earn enough to make ends
meet. Nevertheless, he continued to pursue his dream of achieving
financial independence and today is the CEO of Chris Gardner International
Holdings, an institutional brokerage firm. Governor Lingle invited
Gardner to meet with those involved in finding homeless solutions as well as
homeless individuals to give them hope and inspiration. "Keep
going forward," Gardner replied when asked how he managed to
overcome homelessness. "Baby steps count,
too."
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View the meeting.