.............Joeys Annual Tournament.......... I want to share with all of you, all the many nice stories that has resulted this past year from the work of Joey and his foundation. I shared this with all of our Golf Tournament Guests in the Banquet Room this past Friday, August 15,2014.... On behalf of my son Joey, my family and all the members of the foundation, I would like to thank you all for being here today to help make this tournament a success, filled with what I am sure has been a good many laughs and smiles.....and thats just the way Joey would want it. We are all here today because of one person....Joey Briere. Each and everyday, Joey carried himself in such a positive way, always willing to help a person in need. There are so many good people that help Joey...as he continues to help others. The members of the foundation work hard throughout the year, along with so many kind people who make donations.....and then people like all of you, who attend this tournament each year. We all work in unity with Joey, towards the success of the foundation....but without Joey none of this exists and today doesnt happen. Joey is the nucleus of this foundation. When I tell anyone of a nice story that has resulted from the work of the foundation, I tell people, Joey is the one helping others...and that he is. I know Joey is smiling, just as he did everyday of his life....while looking on with pride - happy that so many friends and family join us in helping to make todays tournament a success, which ultimately results in the success of the foundation as a whole. The mission statement of the Joseph Briere Foundation is to continue the compassion, integrity and sincerity that Joseph displayed on a daily basis. The Joseph Briere Foundation will accomplish this annually, raising funds to help those less fortunate such as, but not limited to, Best Buddies and the Woburn High Scholarship Fund.... Well....because of the success of this annual tournament, Joey has been able to donate a $15,000.00 scholarship each of the last three years to the Woburn High Scholarship Fund.....$45,000.00 in scholarship monies over the last three years! To me....this is so impressive .... To qualify.....these students were required to be accepted to a four year college and perform some type of community service through their four years of high school. Along with that, they were required to write two essays, one essay telling us a story how someone had a positive influence in their life, and the second essay was telling us a story how they had a positive influence in someone elses life....because being a positive influence is what Joey was all about. In addition, a $2000.00 scholarship was chosen by five of Joeys favorite teachers. The scholarship was awarded to a student that showed Strength of Character....something Joey possessed everyday of his life. Joey has donated to the Best Buddies program....and as many of you know, this is a program Joey truly cared about. He cared about the people he befriended through it and according to his friend CJ, Joey was a fan favorite when he showed up there. Well, again....Joey has donated $5000.00 to the Best Buddies of Massachusetts and $5000.00 to the Best Buddies of Woburn High. This totals $30,000.00 donated to the Best Buddies program in the last three years....and that is truly amazing!! Joey was able to help five different families this past Thanksgiving . He donated a full meal basket with all the fixings and a gift card to purchase a turkey at a local supermarket. This past Christmas, Joey was able to provide a Christmas meal basket for a single Mom and her three children, along with quite a few Christmas presents for the kids to open, just as every child wishes for on Christmas morning. Literally thousands of dollars spent to help make Christmas a little brighter for this Mom, her two sons and her daughter. We later learned that the Mom had been ill, but was happy and thankful beyond words. She told the school, when she is back on her feet, she will pay this kindness forward. Although these gifts werent able to change this Moms health condition or the financial challenges they may face...it may help this family forget their struggles, if even for a day. This I do know....Joey reaching out to this family, with all the kindness shown to them...it lets this family know, there is good in this world and people do care. Also, this past school year, the eighth grade students from Joeys former middle school were off to Washington D.C. for a weekend, just as Joey did when he was in the eighth grade. I know Joey had a great time and thats when I learned from a video taken....My son can dance! With the help of the school, we found a young student who is a good student , but couldnt afford this trip that costs about $1000.00. This student was happy beyond words when she found out Joey would be sponsoring her trip to Washington D.C. When her Mom found out, it brought her to tears....tears of happiness and appreciation . We found out this past year, a young girl from Woburn named MacKenzie was diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma. She was diagnosed in October of 2013, and was 15 months at the time. MacKenzie underwent chemo and a fundraiser was held in her honor. Joey donated $500.00 to the MacKenzie fund. It is with great pleasure that I share with you all....as of May 6, 2014, MacKenzie is considered cancer free. As Ive shared these nice stories with other people, Ive mentioned that we dont know some of these people Joey is helping, and thats just fine with us....because Joey has always been willing to help anyone he could, whether he knew them or not. We may not ever know some of these people, but I have a feeling...you can almost rest assure....Just as we will never forget Joey, they too....will never forget who Joey Briere is.... Thank you for being a part of something so special....Thank you for helping to make the Fourth Annual Joseph Briere Memorial Golf Tournament a success.... ..............With Joey Briere........Positive Things Happen.........
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 10:22:29 +0000
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