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DONORS
WHO GIVE: BETTY AND DON BYRNES
Long-time CBI members Betty and Don Byrnes have completed their estate
planning which includes an endowment gift to CBI. "We told our attorney
that we have four children; but for estate planning purposes, we have
five. The fifth child is charity."
Having learned about philanthropy from their parents, Betty and Don are passing
it along…Dor L' Dor. Among their nine grandchildren (the eldest is 11)
are go-getters who have fun running a lemonade stand in front of Betty and Don's
Yerba Santa home. The youngsters decide what charity will benefit from the funds
earned, because -- like their grandmother -- they love to give money away. The
last time, they agreed to keep one dollar each, pay their grandparents for "expenses" (lemonade
and paper cups), and contribute the remaining $11 to the Children's Museum. Quite
an operation!
Says Betty, "It starts early…why when Don and I were young, we never dreamed
we would be able to make charitable gifts. But I love giving; it feels great.
I encourage everybody to give because it's such a blessing…it really lifts
my spirits. Our children are philanthropic, and now our grandchildren are following
suit."
Recently retired after having practiced medicine for more than 40 years, Don's
healing hands delivered over 40,000 babies. He did not turn anybody away whether
they could pay or not, and he sometimes literally took money out of his own pocket
to help indigent patients. He and Betty, a registered nurse, volunteered their
services in the southeastern part of San Diego County at the San Diego Free Clinics.
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"Endowment is especially appealing to us because it provides the wherewithal
to carry through in an emergency. We chose to benefit the synagogue because it
raises Jews. No other organization does that." Betty and Don have made their
CBI endowment gift "unrestricted" because they trust CBI to make the best decision
as to how to use the funds when they become available.
Past president of CBI, Betty also chaired the first Endowment Committee which
was established with a gift of $60,000 when a couple in the congregation passed
away. "It doesn't make any difference if your estate is large or small. All gifts
are important…and look where that $60,000 is today!"*
Betty and Don have been involved in five capital campaigns at one time, including
Seacrest and CBI; and Betty is both an "asker" and a giver. "I never mind asking.
I always feel I'm planting seeds. The mitzvah is as great for the one who asks
as it is for the one who gives."
"I grew up in a big Catholic family, and learned all the basic tenets of Judaism
there: care for the sick, respect for the dead, feed the hungry, do for others,
and so on. Don was a child of the depression with a heart as big as all outdoors.
We sometimes don't agree on our philanthropic endeavors, but what Don learned
from his father (an Honorary Life President of Temple Emanuel) those many years
ago and what I learned from my giving parents has stood us in good stead."
*CBI's Endowment Fund has now reached $6 million.
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