Heather Latter
Mitchell Riordon, whose passion for helping others began when he was just eight years old, has been recognized for his efforts by being nominated for the first-annual Northwestern Ontario Visionary Awards.
The Fort Frances teen, along with his parents, Tammy and John, attended the gala event, which was held Saturday at Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay.
Hosted by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce and SHIFT, Thunder Bay’s Young Professional Network, the event celebrated the successes of 66 nominees and also honoured the top 20 under 40 from across the region.
While the 13-year-old, who also was the youngest nominee, did not place among the top 20, he was thrilled to be nominated.
“It was a great honour,” Riordon enthused. “It was so impressive what [the other nominees] had achieved.
“It was just amazing to be among these people.”
“It blew us away. It was a pretty outstanding group of people,” noted Tammy Riordon.
“It was nice for Mitchell to see what some of these other people have done,” added John Riordon.
“It gives him something positive to aspire to in the future.”
Everyone they spoke to at the event was positive, John Riordon added.
“You can see why they are leaders in their fields,” he remarked.
The St. Francis School student might have been in a different league than many of his fellow nominees, who mainly were professionals, but Mitchell Riordon’s giving nature—and the projects he completed at his young age—are impressive nonetheless.
When he was eight, he donated $20 of his own money to the “Building for the Future” fundraising campaign for a new library here when it was launched back in 2007.
“I began to be invited to the town hall meetings to talk about it, and I was one of the first people to get a coloured set of the layout of what the building was supposed to be like,” Riordon noted, adding he also was asked to cut the ribbon, representing the youth of Fort Frances, at the grand opening of the new facility.
Riordon also initiated his own “Plan Canada” project to raise $1,000 for water and sanitation for a community in a Third World country.
He noted while studying a unit in school, he and fellow students were asked to keep track of the resources they use on a daily basis that they might take for granted.
“Water kept coming up,” he remarked, noting how he learned just how important water is.
And then he saw the gift of water and sanitation in the “Plan Canada” catalogue.
“I said to my mom, ‘I think I can do this,’” he recalled, noting he decided to call around to family members and friends to ask for donations, well as giving money he would have spent eating out and funds he earned from baby-sitting and shovelling snow.
When word started to spread, he began receiving donations from other sources.
“People he didn’t know sent money, two young boys from town took $50 each out of their bank accounts,” noted Tammy Riordon.
“There are a lot of thoughtful people out there,” added John Riordon.
In the end, the youngster raised $1,370. But once Mitchell Riordon learned about the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), his gift was matched, bringing the total close to $8,000.
His project was able to provide five communities in Colombia with water and sanitation, six schools in Malawi with clean drinking water and latrines, and 22 home birthing kits and blankets to wrap newborns to Bolivia.
“But it doesn’t have to be $100,” his mom stressed. “Mitchell learned that giving up McDonald’s or giving $2 here and $10 there makes a huge difference.”
Riordon feels it primarily was his “Plan Canada” project that prompted his cousin, Amy Kielczewski of Thunder Bay, to nominate him for the NOVA award.
While he didn’t feel his achievements were as “big” as some of the others, he still was thrilled to be a part of Saturday’s gala event.
“It was Hollywood in Thunder Bay,” Tammy Riordon described, noting there was a red carpet, champagne, photographers, and everyone was dressed as if they were attending the Oscars.
She added there was a four-course dinner, live entertainment, and an after-party (which the Riordons didn’t attend).
“I felt special and I wasn’t even a nominee,” she admitted.
“I think the objective of the award is to get the ideas flowing in youth in what they can do to help change the world,” Mitchell Riordon reasoned.
“And I think it will have that impact.”
Riordon doesn’t know if he is an inspiration to others, but would be greatly happy if he was.
“It would be nice to know that I’ve inspired other people to do good things in the world,” he said.
“Don’t believe that one person—a 12-year-old in Fort Frances—can’t make a significant difference in the lives of strangers,” Tammy Riordon noted.
“When I think of those kids at school with clean drinking water and latrines, it’s pretty heart-warming.
“We hope he continues, especially through his teenage years, to see that others need help,” she added, noting the family of three also attended “We Day” in Winnipeg back in November, which promotes the same philosophy.
And, in fact, Mitchell Riordon already has another project in the works.
He’s ready to help out a 14-year-old girl named Bronwyn Huffman of Thunder Bay, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia on Jan. 15 and already is in London, Ont. receiving treatments.
Some people are going “Bald for Bronwyn” while others, like Riordon, will dye their hair purple on her birthday (March 26).
Riordon will help raise funds to assist Huffman and her family while she is hospitalized for six months.
In addition, Riordon hopes to become a lawyer some day so that he can help people who are in trouble.
In the meantime, he will continue to be an active member of St. Mary’s Church here and the Fort Frances Aquanauts swim team, as well as focusing on other initiatives as they arise.
He’d also like to thank St. Francis School for the sponsorship to be able to attend the NOVA gala.
“The support I have received has been greatly appreciated,” he stressed.
Editor’s note: Heather Jarvis of Fort Frances also was a nominee for the NOVA awards while Neil McLeod of Dryden, formerly of Fort Frances, was a regional winner.
