On Friday, the head of our team at Check Point sent out a summary of the #WhatWouldJoelDo community service week in honor of Joel (below). It left me speechless with a wide range of emotions that are impossible to explain. There were certainly tears: joy, sadness, hope, and thanks. I told the coordinators of this even that “I wish I had something profound to say”. My father, a career newspaper writer and author was also speechless. Almost… As most good writers do, they are able to boil down complex thoughts into simple terms.
“I don’t have the words to express my gratitude, wonderment, and inspiration. May God bless everyone multiple times for what they have done to keep Joel’s goodness shining”
Dad, Papa, Pat, Dennis Byrne
Over the past few months I’ve pondered much. I’ll share one such topic. In the face of such unbearable pain, how could anything matter? The answer, ironically enough, is found in that pain. Our pain and suffering proves it’s very existence. If that is the case, then times where pain and suffering isn’t present must also exist. Just as light doesn’t exists without darkness. How could anything matter in such pain? Simply because there are so many others that are living with unbearable pain. If I can help ease the pain, then it matters to them.
The stories about what my coworkers did to honor Joel are amazing. They demonstrated the power to ease someone’s suffering. They have certainly kept Joel’s light shining. It eases our family’s pain but more importantly, it eases the pain of the many, many less fortunate people.
Kelly, thank you for being such a good friend and for leading this effort with such skill and determination. You must have put countless hours into this all the while being amazing at what you do at work. Your mom is clearly present in everything you do.
Gil, thank you for championing this and being there for us in our darkest hour. I believe we go back about 15 years now. Thank you for these years and especially the past eight. Thank you for leading with such passion and integrity.
Marla, fellow Hawkeye, thank you and the entire Check Point community for being so incredibly supportive. If I didn’t have such support, I’m not sure how I’d manage day to day at work. What an amazing organization!
Jacob, your fingerprints are ALL over the creative side of things with this. What a beautiful job!! Thank you for the countless hours.
To everyone that took time out of their lives to volunteer and help with this, everyone that has supported our family or done something to keep Joel’s light shining, thank you so much. You have helped ease our pain. Know that your contribution helps gives me the strength to put one foot in front of the other.
Message from Gil Friedrich
Team,
Thank you for being part of the #WhatWouldJoelDo community service week in honor of Joel Byrne. And what a week it was!
When we started this effort, it was to support the Byrne family. Many people asked how to help, what could they do or what did Don need? And to be honest, we didn’t know what to do, but we knew we wanted to support Don and his family however we could.
At Joel’s service, we heard about the many great acts Joel did in his short life. Whether it was donating to the LAMB Center, fostering dogs, helping build up students on and off the ball field, collecting recyclables in his town or giving out his hard-saved money to the homeless in New York. Joel truly cared and had a deep-rooted commitment to giving back. It was clear that the best help we can offer was to continue shining Joel’s light through the missions he had started.
We decided on June 21 as it was the longest day of light in the Northern Hemisphere and build from there. And wow did everyone embrace this! Volunteerism took place in many countries and all over the US. Community Service included feeding the homeless, making meals, stocking shelves of food pantries, delivering food to those in need, helping children with tutoring, donating clothing and food and the list goes on and on. #Whatwouldjoeldo even made the news in Florida, we raised money through t-shirt sales and were awarded a charitable donation for the Let Goodness Shine Fund from Check Point.
I wanted to thank Marla for all her support, Jacob for taking care of our online presence and for putting together the amazing summary webpage that you must see (Link below). And of course, to Kelly for initiating and running this beginning to end.
Most of all, we wanted to thank you all so much for everything you did to show the Bryne family how much they mean to all of us. Together we did make a difference in our local communities while honoring Joel and the light he brought. Here is a link to summarize all the great efforts around the world. https://www.avanan.com/whatwouldjoeldo
Thank you,
Gil Friedrich
If you would like to receive notifications of new posts, or only receive notifications once a week, you can change your preferences with these instructions
Truly a wonderful response. So many good people doing good work. Thank you so much. Grandma Rose.