Features
Together in Two-Part Harmony
Decade-long friendship between U of G student and young man with Down's syndrome hits the right note
BY REBECCA KENDALL
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| Greg and the Boys will perform Feb. 2 as part of a benefit concert at War Memorial Hall. From left are Marcel Destine, Miles Krauter, Greg O'Brien, Dan Rossi and Andrew Rossi. Photo by Mai Bozian |
It's rare to meet someone who changes the way you think about life and friendship, but a chance meeting between two young men a decade ago has developed into a harmonious friendship that lends voice to the idea of celebrating differences.
Ten years ago, one of Dan Rossi's favourite places to spend time was his community swimming pool in Markham. It was there that Rossi, now a fifth-year international development student at U of G, met Greg O'Brien, a boy with Down's syndrome who was five years his junior.
“I could tell he was a great kid, and I really liked him,” says Rossi. “His sister was a student at my school and asked me if I'd mind spending time with Greg.”
The two started hanging out together, and one of O'Brien's favourite things to do was attend Rossi's youth group meetings, where he could socialize and play around with musical instruments.
“Greg loved to bang around on the drums,” Rossi recalls. “My friends and I would play and sing along with him, and because he loves the Backstreet Boys, we'd listen to their music. At first I felt like I was helping him, but over time I realized it was a two-way exchange and we were friends.”
It wasn't long before O'Brien expressed a desire to take their voices beyond the weekly youth group meetings and start performing in public.
“I immediately said ‘yes' because this is Greg's dream,” says Rossi, adding that the group has since performed a handful of times, including their stage debut at O'Brien's school.
On Feb. 2, O'Brien and Rossi, along with Rossi's brother, Andrew, Marcel Destine and Miles Krauter, a high school student from Markham, will perform at their biggest venue to date. “Greg and the Boys,” as they call themselves, will take to the stage at War Memorial Hall for a benefit concert called “Dreams of Inclusion” to support the Canadian Crime Victim Foundation and the Guelph-Wellington Association for Community Living. The show also features Jack D, Brick House and Worth the Drive and special guests the Deli Boys Comedy Act and Joseph Wamback. Doors open at 7:45 p.m., and showtime is 8 p.m.
The concert is organized by members of the Fine Arts Network, in collaboration with the School of Fine Art and Music, and Five With DRIVE, an organization Rossi founded in 2005 to raise money and awareness for charities that support social inclusion and harmony.
“Greg has always wanted to sing at a concert, and I promised him I'd do my best to make that happen,” says Rossi. “It's not that he couldn't have done it on his own, but I am so happy to help him with this. I love that he's so excited about it. This is his dream.”
The duo's relationship is something Rossi doesn't take for granted, and he says their friendship is one of the most important in his life. But he didn't realize just how important it was until he was in his last year of high school on his way to starting university at an East Coast school on a football scholarship. Those plans were cut short in an instant when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a game.
“I was really upset and frustrated by the whole situation. I had to have surgery, and out of the dozens of friends I had at my high school, none came to the hospital or to see me at home.”
But O'Brien came to see him and brought along a recording of himself singing a Backstreet Boys song to cheer Rossi up.
“Before that moment, I never thought Greg could understand the meaning of friendship, but he proved me wrong,” says Rossi. “Of all my friends, he was the only one there. That moment changed my whole outlook. You can't treat people with disabilities differently because you might not think they're normal. There's no such thing as normal anymore. We all have our differences, and we all bring something unique to the table.”
This summer, O'Brien will undoubtedly be one of Rossi's biggest supporters as he and Five With DRIVE take steps to raise money and awareness for the Centre for Dreams Inc., a Markham-based organization that provides educational and social opportunities and experiences for adults aged 21 and older who have intellectual disabilities.
On May 27, the team, which consists of the Rossi brothers, Destine, Mark Macdonnell and U of G student Marco Barakoski, will start a 2,150-kilometre walk that will take them from Halifax to Markham in 46 days. They aim to raise $100,000.
The journey will be a special opportunity for Rossi to spend time with Macdonnell, a master corporal in the Canadian Army Reserves, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan and is scheduled to return to Canada in April. Rossi and Macdonnell have been friends since high school and joined the military together when they were 17.
Rossi, also a master corporal, spends two weekends a month conducting training exercises in Ottawa, Meaford and Borden.
This isn't the first time Five With DRIVE has taken on an effort like this. Two years ago, the Rossi brothers, Macdonnell, U of G student Jody Chrobak and Jonathan Mishrigi walked the world's longest thoroughfare, Yonge Street, in 40 days for charity. The trip took them from Rainy River, Ont., a small community about 100 kilometres east of Fort Frances, to Toronto. The group walked 12 to 15 hours a day and raised $50,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of York.
“I learned a lot in 2005 and gained an appreciation for how difficult it can be to raise money and awareness,” says Rossi, who is currently a Big Brother to a 17-year-old boy and has been a mentor with the organization for the past decade.
“This year, we've deliberately chosen organizations that don't get a lot of recognition or funding. These groups have an equally demanding mandate, but they don't have the resources to promote their mission like well-funded high-profile groups do, and we want to do our part to help. It's a lot of work, but it's all worth it.”
For more information about the concert or the walk, visit the website www.fivewithdrive.ca.