Editor’s Note: Probably one of the most under recognized thing 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 he mentioned that Richard coincidentally had just come down to visit him in Florida. He went on to add that Richard would not be able to make the 40th Reunion in September 2019 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 him. 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.
Please see some of the great work Richard is doing below, primarily with Habitat for Humanity but also with Developing World Connections. He indicated that he initially started in September, 2013 and got hooked after that experience left such a great impression on him. At last count he has been on 15 missions, amazingly on all 6 inhabited continents - Europe (Macedonia and Portugal); Asia (Vietnam, Nepal, Philippines and Mongolia); Africa (Zambia, Ethiopia and Kenya); North America (Honduras, El Salvador and Hawaii); South America (Bolivia and Chile); and Australia and Oceania (New Zealand). He will be heading to Peru in September 2019 with Developing World Connections.
All I can say is Bravo Zulu Richard - well done! What you do is something that makes our Class very proud!
