respect for McDonald's legacy. Phillip Phillips, winner of the eleventh season of American Idol, was invited to the wake service and performed his hit song "Home" because it was one of McDonald's favorites, according to his son, Conor. Breaking the Cycle program McDonald further promoted his message of forgiveness following his shooting by founding Breaking the Cycle, a program promoting nonviolent conflict resolution. McDonald attended assemblies at high schools or middle schools and tell the students about his personal story of forgiveness. The program was started after McDonald traveled to Northern Ireland multiple times from 1997 to 1999 with his friends Mychal Judge and Johann Christoph Arnold to promote forgiveness in the wake of the conflicts there. Following his death, McDonald's wife and son have continued working with Breaking the Cycle by telling his story of forgiveness to students. Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award The New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) established the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award in his honor following the 1987–1988 NHL season. McDonald would personally present a Ranger with a trophy and a $25,000 check (in the player's name) made out to the Steven McDonald Foundation. References Further reading . Pocket Books, 1991. Why Forgive, pp 172–192. Plough Publishing, New York, 2010. https://www.breakingthecycle.com/about http://pix11.com/2017/01/10/nypd-det-steven-mcdonald-dead-at-59-lead-inspiring-life-after-1986-shooting-paralyzed-him/ Obituary 1957 births 2017 deaths New York City Police Department officers New York Rangers People with tetraplegia Place of birth missing United States Navy corpsmen Military personnel from New York City Place of death missing American shooting survivors