| | | | | TanenbaumCHAT Grad Danny Richmond ('03) Chosen to Accompany the Governor General on her Mission to Africa.
Danny Richmond has been chosen to accompany Her Excellency Michaelle Jean, the Governor General, on her 2006 State Visit to Africa, to Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco (from November 18 until December 11 (see details ).
He is part of a delegation of ten eminent Canadians, most with connections to Africa through involvement in aid or cultural projects (see http://www.gg.ca/gg/rr/sv/delegation.pdf ).
Since leaving TanenbaumCHAT, Danny has been extremely active both in Jewish student activity and leadership (he is currently working for Young Judea), but also in volunteering and organizing on behalf of African causes (see the details below). Danny's family has long and extensive links with TanenbaumCHAT - his two siblings graduated TanenbaumCHAT, as did several cousins. His mother, Dr. Mary Richmond, is currently on the TanenbaumCHAT Education Committee.
We congratulate Danny on this immense distinction - and our proud that a TanenbaumCHAT Grad is representing Canada on this important visit.
Read Danny's biography as it appears on the Governor General's website:
DANNY RICHMOND
National Program Director, Canadian Young Judaea; Youth Engagement Facilitator, Youth Challenge International
Danny Richmond participated on one of Youth Challenge International’s overseas volunteer projects in January 2004. In February 2004, Danny departed for Guyana, where he spent 8 weeks working with a group of Canadian, Guyanese and Australian youth to deliver HIV/AIDS workshops, empower and mobilize local youth groups, and educate school children about hygiene and other health concerns. In a country where the majority of the population is isolated and does not have access to any resources, Danny and his team worked with these rural communities with a unique energy and interest in delivering important education to youth and other audiences. His role within the group was significant, and he was a clear leader among his peers. He returned from this trip with a renewed excitement in the role that he could play to make a difference in the world. Since September 2004, Danny has volunteered with Youth Challenge International to deliver well over 80 presentations about global citizenship and the impact of HIV/AIDS on the developing world to secondary schools and other audiences, reaching over 10 000 Ontario youth. Feedback from these groups has been exceptional. Danny also works with younger teenagers through his involvement with Canadian Young Judaea (CYJ), which offers national leadership training. Through his position as national program director, he has engaged a group of Toronto youth in activities in support of positive social change. These youth have identified individual projects related to social action, and Danny motivates and assists these youth in making their projects a reality. He is truly committed to youth as global citizens and to providing them with a social atmosphere in which they can make a difference.
Together with other young people, Danny has overseen 40 innovative youth-led community projects dealing with issues of homelessness, environmentalism, AIDS, landmines, African children and many more. He has been instrumental in organizing two rallies to create awareness about the genocide in Darfur. Danny has also recently worked in northern Ghana at the Horizons Children’s centre, providing arts education to the 24 boys who live there and to the support staff at the orphanage.
Danny can often be heard saying that he doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel; he simply wants to find a new way to ride the bike. This saying is typical of Danny’s views on how he can help the people of the world: he does not need to find a new way to help, but only to make the act of being involved in helping the global community a part of everyday life.
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