Editor’s Note: Probably one of the most under recognized things people do is their volunteer work, in part because that is not why they volunteer. They volunteer because it is the right thing to do and because it always seems to be a very positive experience for both the volunteer as well as the ones being helped. In early 2019, I was asking Larry Richardson about an RRMC photograph Richard was in, before posting on the TDV79ers website, and since Richard had just visited him, Larry mentioned that Richard would not be able to make the 40th Reunion because he would be in elsewhere in the world working on another volunteer project, adding that he travels several times a year doing this type of work. I thought wow, good on him, and … that is definitely something worth posting on the website, so I reached out to Richard. He was a little reluctant at first, for all the right reasons, but relented and so he sent us a few photos and also Jay grabbed a few photos from his Facebook page, and posted them, and then once we figured out what we wanted to do, we ended up getting at least one shot of each of his projects. Since then he has gone on several more trips.
Please see some of the great work Richard is doing below. The first sixteen projects below were with Habitat for Humanity (HFH), but Covid really put a halt on those. The more recent ones are all with Developing World Connections, based in Kamloops, BC. They are a non-profit organization more oriented towards community projects. He initially started in September, 2013, and he got hooked after that experience left such a great impression on him. At last count he has been on 22 missions, amazingly on all 6 inhabited continents - Europe (Macedonia and Portugal); Asia (Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal (2), Philippines, Cambodia and Mongolia); Africa (Zambia, Ethiopia and Kenya); North America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Hawaii and Canada (Yukon)); South America (Bolivia, Peru and Chile); and Australia and Oceania (New Zealand).
All I can say is Bravo Zulu Richard - well done! What you do is something that makes our Class very proud!
