As you may have heard, our supporters are our superheroes. Their enthusiasm and commitment to justice has made our movement what it is, and our life-saving programs simply couldn’t exist without them.
This week, we want to show some love to one of our most dedicated supporters, Danielle McGorman. We are so impressed by what this 16-year-old has managed to pull off for social justice, and when we got to meet her at several of our events, we were convinced that she is an incredible example of what our Fourth Estate ethos represents.
“If we can’t stop this [the LRA conflict], then we as a generation have failed. And I don’t want us to fail.” –Danielle McGorman
Bravery may be Danielle’s strongest suit, followed closely by her undying commitment. During #zeroLRA, our last fundraising season, she took on a series of (arguably insane) dares, from the gallon challenge to downing shots of hot sauce combined with lemon juice. In other words, her heart of gold is coupled with her stomach of steel. All in all, she was able to raise over $12,000 during the #zeroLRA campaign. Pretty exceptional.
Danielle first became aware of Kony and LRA atrocities when she read War Brothers by Sharon McKay, and she later found out about Invisible Children through our Kony 2012 campaign. Following the massive media attention surrounding our Kony 2012 film, Danielle remained inspired, albeit hesitant, to get involved.
But when Roadies visited her school in October 2012, Danielle was once again captivated by the issue and knew it was time to take action. She sat in on a meeting after the screening and learned about MOVE:DC. In the following two weeks, managed to organize a 12-hour bus trip for 30 people to attend the event.
From there, her inspiration kicked off even more. At MOVE:DC, Danielle had the chance to meet with our executive team and began entertaining the idea of traveling outside of Canada alone for the first time. After an email of encouragement from our staff, Danielle adopted one of our values: “jump first, fear later.” She decided to forgo her fear of flying, and found herself in California for the 2013 Fourth Estate Leadership Summit. Clearly, she wasn’t going to let anything stop her from being part of this mission.
It comes as no surprise that Danielle has a lot to look forward to in the near and distant future. She’s currently performing in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and hopes to one day star in the Broadway production of Wicked. And if that isn’t impressive enough, Danielle is also working on a book recounting tales of people she has met – some familiar Invisible Children names (read: Jedidiah Jenkins and Jason Russell) may even make a cameo.
Danielle says she’s excited to continue supporting Invisible Children, but hopes the conflict will be over by the time she is able to intern with the organization. In the further future, she aspires to work with the United Nations and devote her life to helping others. But for now, we are happy to call Danielle an unstoppable force, an incredible supporter, and a dear friend.
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