Paying it forward
The Dillon Henry Foundation was created in 2007 to honor Dillon Henry, a remarkable young man who was compassionate, tolerant and wanted to make a difference. Dillon was only 17 when he died suddenly in a car crash on July 6th, 2007. Dillon acted on his beliefs and his outrage against human rights violations both at his high school and by connecting with organizations that shared his concerns.
Dillon was a friend to many and always inspirational in his kindness and joy of life. He possessed an attitude that allowed him to transcend negativity and move forward with his unique way to find solutions. He saw the harshness of life and the difficulties some individuals have to endure. Dillon was a leader and knew how to give people hope. He loved his family and friends and knew education was a key to a brighter future. He was like a pied piper with young children and engaged at every level knowing he must make the most of what was given to him. He is missed by his family and friends and through the Foundation is known to many locally and around the world. Everyone responds to his enduring spirit and his message to step up to change the world for the better. The 1000 mourners at his funeral knew the world had lost someone special.
The Dillon Henry Foundation has accomplished a great deal in the past 9 years and some of the accomplishments are listed below.
· Awarded 83 scholarships to Palisades High School students towards their college education
· The Dillon Henry Summer Intern Endowment with Surfrider Foundation (16 fellows and counting)
· Support and advocacy for CASA LA, an organization dedicated to advocating for the 30,000 foster children in Los Angeles
· Provided training for 3 young adults, as part of WITNESS, a non-profit organization that teaches individuals to bear witness to human rights violations and atrocities around the world
· The Dillon Henry Medical Clinic serving 150,000 people in CAR and the Chambucha Rape and Crisis Center in DRC serving women and their complex medical needs
· Center for Pregnant Teens, a haven for young girls who have become pregnant through rape where they learn nutrition, how to care for their infants, and find a way to support themselves
· Partnership with Jewish World Watch, an anti-genocide organization that tells the world “we must not stand idly by.”
We honor Dillon and strive to follow in his footsteps of compassion, knowledge and goodness by taking the necessary actions to effect change
“Zooming down the line, the wave is like a clean sheet of paper and my board is the pen that strings words together to compose lyrical miracles”