When our precious Joel passed away in 2023, we were paralyzed with grief. He was an athletic, bright, kind, funny, yet a bit quirky, 15 year-old high school freshman and to his family he was also tender, determined, humble and faithful. Joel was amid those transformative, often difficult teen years, and emerging as an incredibly conscientious and kind human. He was, like all of our children, deeply loved and truly special. 

In those early, heart-wrenching days, one thing that brought us some light was giving back. A colleague of Don’s, Kelly, helped organize a Week of Service in Joel’s honor around the summer solstice, June 21st – the longest day of the year, when the Earth tilts closest to the sun. It felt right to lean into the light, even in our darkest time.   

That first year, we partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help build a home for a single mom and her son. Since then, friends, family, and colleagues, across the U.S. and beyond, have joined us in honoring Joel with service: making blankets for pediatric cancer patients, community cleanups, volunteering at camps for the disabled, feeding the homeless, stocking food pantries, picking up litter, tutoring children, mission trips, medical causes, donation drives and so much more. 

Each act of kindness, big or small, reminds us that Joel’s light still shines.

This summer solstice, we teamed up with Inova and St. Mary’s Catholic Church to host a blood drive in Joel’s honor. We chose this project in the hope of inspiring many of Joel’s teenage friends to become lifelong blood donors. We’re deeply grateful to the SUDC Foundation for their ongoing support and the use of their beautiful “Love Beyond Reason” banner.

Thank you to the SUDC Foundation and everyone who continues to support us and remember Joel through love in action.