Do It For Daron

Jerome Varsity Hockey plays an annual Do It For Daron (DIFD) game each year, usually against Coffman. At this game/event, all of the money that we raise goes directly to our local community for youth mental health. This year's game was held on January 5th, 2024 (see photos below). Players wore purple to school earlier that day, wore purple and white jerseys during the game, and sold t-shirts with the purple DIFD heart.

The purple DIFD heart, a creation inspired by Daron’s favorite color, has become the youth-driven symbol of this movement.

There are 3 basic goals of Do It For Daron (DIFD): Raise Awareness, Inspire Conversations, and Transform Youth Mental Health. By focusing on these, it is hoped that events like this can erase the stigma associated with discussing mental health so that our youth can begin to talk about how they are feeling and ultimately get the help that they might need.

For more information, please see https://www.difd.com/

In November 2010, 14-year-old Daron Richardson died by suicide.

From this tragedy came a movement to transform youth mental health.

Daron’s parents Luke and Stephanie Richardson decided to transform their very private pain into a public call-to-action and made a decision to support young people who struggle with mental illness.

Supported by the energy and efforts of dozens of Daron’s close friends and classmates, a grassroots movement was formed with the mission of creating awareness, inspiring conversations, and transforming youth mental health.