Darren is a force behind many organisations and initiatives having had a hand in many different facets of the community. He is regularly cited as a trusted advisor to so many communal leaders, and has played a key role in the success of a number of communal success stories over the past 18 years.
Darren’s communal involvement started as a volunteer with CSG for more than a decade (2006-2016). With CSG, he served as a Duty Operations Manager for the community, was a member of the community’s Crisis Management team, ran a team of instructors, and had responsibility for hundreds of volunteers on key operations and initiatives.
At the same time, Darren was a participant in one of the first Observership Programs (2014), taking an observer seat on the Board of JewishCare and which led to him joining the founding Board of Youth2Israel (Y2i) in 2015, where he remains as a Director until today. With Y2i, Darren helped to establish the legal and governance framework for funding year 10 programs in Israel, supporting two capital appeals, building relationships with schools and other supporting organisations, and navigating the complexities of operating through COVID. Today, Y2i has enabled thousands of young people to spend time on a program in Israel and been a catalyst for their Jewish identities and involvement.
In 2022, Darren was a co-founder and became a Board member of Community Health Support (CHS). Along with CHS’ Chairperson and executive team, Darren has helped to get CHS off the ground to recruit close to 100 volunteers, deliver free training for thousands of members of our community, establish a first-line medical response service having already provided emergency care for hundreds of patients across Sydney in just a few months, and established an event coverage and consulting function to become the key provider of emergency medical services to our wider community.
In between, Darren has played a role as an informal advisor to a number of other organisations, sat on JCA Engagement Working Groups and has consistently identified opportunities to support the incredible work of our community.
Darren is a worthy recipient and a Jewish Changemaker in the truest sense.