Carrying His Daughter’s Legacy Forward

Photo by Lisette Omoss

“No father ever signs up to be the keeper of his daughters legacy. No father ever signs up to take his daughter accomplishments, and the template that she created for what it really means to be a powerful woman in the world, and carry it forward. I however, found myself in that very situation.” -Ken Druck

If you ask Ken Druck why he does what he does, he will undoubtably say that his life and work is an expression of love for both of his daughters. Even though life has not always been “perfect” for Ken, he is a man of gratitude and of action.

“It is in me to do what I do and give back,” says Ken.

In 1996, The Jenna Druck Center was founded by Dr. Ken Druck after his 21 year old daughter, Jenna, was tragically killed in a bus crash while studying abroad.

“What we do in our lives is born of several things, two of which I believe are core inspiration and wound inspiration. True core inspiration is when someone has directly inspired you, or that person emulates something that is so closely aligned with what you truly care about and with what you feel really makes a difference in life. A wound inspiration is born of the deepest wounds in your life. For example, things that were missing in your childhood, or the things that are lacking in our society. Most of the time, its a combination of the two,” says Ken.

At the onset, Ken developed the Center’s two programs called Families Helping Families (FHF) and Spirit of Leadership (SOL). These two programs are now the driving force behind what the organization does in the communities in which it serves. Today, the Jenna Druck Center is comprised of thousands of stakeholders in San Diego community who share the vision, and who have helped the vision grow and flourish. It is a community’s expression of compassion for those unfortunate families who will have to endure the loss of a child.

“It is now a community-wide expression of how we all value our daughters and how we want them to go forward in the world,” said Ken.

But the Jenna Druck Center doesn’t allow itself to have any geographical boundaries. Now days, its outreach is global. The center has had families contacted them from all over the world. From Hong Kong, India, Europe, and South America families have reached out to the center after hearing or reading about what the center is doing. The center continues to provide support to families who are experiencing grief and to young woman’s leadership groups that share the same values and vision. An example Ken gave me was about a father from India that wanted to honor his daughter the same way Ken had been doing with the center.

“We’ve given him the template for our ‘Spirit of Leadership’ program and now he is replicating that program in India.”

The Jenna Druck Center started as a father’s expression of love for his daughter. Now it has become its own entity. There’s no question that Ken will continue to carry Jenna’s legacy forward.  Ken said that Jenna, who he calls his Chief Angelic Officer, works along side him every day, and together they will continue to do great things in the world.

Ken Druck is also an executive coach, consultant, speaker and author (www.kendruck.com).  His new book entitled , The Real Rules of Life: How to Balance Life’s Terms with Our Own, is due to be released in April 2012 by Hay House.  Please stay tuned for a follow up interview with Ken where we will talk about self-discovery and how through it, we can make our lives a truer expression of who we are and become a more compassionate society as a result.

David A. Moya is a community contributor and influencer for positive change. As founder of The Carmel Valley Life he focuses on education, transparency and helping others find a voice for their passion. During his earlier years, he fed his entrepreneurial spirit and founded a company focused on the development of young kids who are committed to peak performance. David went on to pay for his BA in Finance through his real estate business and after graduating flew more than 30 flights to over 10 countries in order to master the art of communication and business.  “Resigning from my previous job to dedicate 100% of my time to The Carmel Valley Life was one of the best decision I’ve ever made.”