The day started and ended with surprises for Brenden Schooler.
Arriving at Gillette Stadium for practice, the New England Patriots special teamer saw a photo of himself on the wall while walking through the tunnel.
For a former undrafted free agent, this was pretty cool -- he even stopped to take a picture. Schooler had no clue he would be honored by the organization in a more permanent way later that night at the Patriots Premiere.
"I almost got a little emotional for a second just because I never thought I'd ever win this award," Schooler said, minutes after Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft announced the special teamer as the 2024 Ron Burton Community Service Award winner.
"I do community service because I love it, and I love being out in the community and just spending time with people, hearing their stories, and being able to affect people in a positive way. So to get this award -- I mean, I don't really even feel deserving of it, just because this is something I love to do. But to get this award is awesome."
Despite his own shock, anyone who has seen Schooler's work with the Patriots Foundation would agree he's worthy.
Since arriving in New England in 2022, he has humbly impacted the Foundation and its initiatives tremendously.
Whether he's getting dressed up in a silly costume for Halloween parties with pediatric cancer patients or allowing children in vulnerable situations to wrap him in tinsel year after year for the annual holiday party, the charity's staff can always count on Schooler to show up with enthusiasm.
Some players have more resources to give back or have had more time in the league to start foundations of their own. Schooler is a clear example that you can make a big difference in a short amount of time just by showing up.
"It's a great accomplishment and I'm beyond honored to receive this award tonight on a stage with guys who have been doing this a lot longer than I have so it's pretty surreal," Schooler said.
"This is something that has always been super important to me, no matter how insignificant an interaction may seem, it could be monumental for the other person. So taking that seriously, and taking to heart what was taught to me by my parents, my family, older guys on the football team -- those are the guys that showed me this is how things are done in this organization. After that, it was just falling in love with making people's day and seeing the smile you could put on someone's face. That's what matters most."
That is the spirit of the award named after the late Ron Burton, a former Patriots running back who left a legacy of love and compassion in the organization and throughout New England.
Former winners like Jerod Mayo, Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise Jr., Joe Cardona, Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty, David Andrews, and Troy Brown all joined Kraft and the Burton family on stage to present the award.
As Kraft mentioned in the speech, it's not even about the number of events and initiatives that Schooler helps support -- it's the quality time he spends.
Schooler has attended dozens of Patriots Foundation events since his arrival in the league, and no matter how far a community event is from the stadium, or how many hours it takes from his day, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more genuine in their interactions.
In the few minutes it took him to carry out a laundry basket filled with Thanksgiving fixings from Goodwill to a family's car, he was overheard learning about their young child's interests and addressed him by name when saying goodbye.
Over the course of two full seasons, he's kept in touch with Marcus Bisson, a boy fighting cancer whom Schooler met at a game in 2022. Schooler continues to invite Bisson and his family to training camp and games and visits him at the hospital.
Bisson was even featured in the massive photo that stopped Schooler in his tracks on Wednesday.
"In the tunnel, there's a bunch of pictures of guys doing community service," Schooler recalled.
"I'm just walking down the tunnel looking at the pictures and I saw Marcus' face. And then I'm like, oh wow, I'm up there too. I ended up stopping to take a picture to send to his mom and let them know we made it on the wall of the stadium. She texted me back that it made her emotional, and Marcus loved it as well."
As cool as it was, the pictures on the wall at Gillette Stadium are temporary. Having your name etched into Patriots history as a Ron Burton Award winner is forever.
"Being able to see and experience things like this is crazy," Schooler reflected at the end of the night.
"As a little kid I never even pictured this would ever happen to me. It's pretty surreal getting to see that kind of stuff and it does make my day and put a big smile on my face."
