Sometimes it is hard to know how to give back to the world. While hard work and effort can lead you to a successful life, anyone in a good position must realize that an element of luck got them there. Whether you were lucky enough to be born into a family that could give you opportunities, lucky enough to get a call back on the first job you got, or lucky enough to be born into a country where you didn’t face oppression, fortune always plays a role. That is why when you get to a position where you have enough it is good to help others. The tough question is what is the best way to do that? One family set a fine example.
Being charitable is fantastic but it can be difficult to ensure your time and money are making a difference. Sometimes you want to help the homeless on the street but never know what the money you give will be spent on, will it help or make things worse? Others prefer to donate through registered charities but a lot of this money goes towards necessary administration costs and doesn’t always reach the people who need it most. The best way to help is often to get directly involved and find a solution that benefits people. That is exactly what the McDaniel family decided to do this year.
The McDaniels family is a young, strong, and fit family. They are good with their hands and enjoy putting in a day of hard work. Shane McDaniel, the father of the house, was raised to work hard and would spend many summer days as a child chopping wood with his father. Now that he has sons he wanted to pass on this summertime task. Of course, Shane and his twin sons could produce enough wood to last them the winter in just one day. This is when Shane had an idea. He and his sons chopped wood for the entire summer. They ended up with about $10,000 worth of wood in total.
That is a lot of wood and while they could easily have sold it they decided to do something else. Shane posted online that the wood was available for anyone who needed it. People started to come slowly to pick up the wood but soon when word got out, families who really needed it started to appear. Shane heard from single mothers who had no idea how they were going to make ends meet delighted that they had one less thing to worry about. He heard from elderly people who could no longer chop wood themselves delighted to still have some wood to burn.
Shane knew that there were people in his community who were not well off and that is the reason he decided to get he and his boys chopping all summer. So that when winter came around people could be warm. This great idea is a lesson for us all.
The McDaniels could have spent their summer doing other things. They could have sold the wood they chopped and made a nice profit. Instead, they actively spent the summer preparing to help people in need using the skills and resources they have. If we all thought a little more about the resources available to us and how we could use them to help others the world would be a much better place.
While you may not be able to chop wood, or spend the entire summer finding ways to help others, I am certain there are things you can do to help. If you are an accountant you can help some not-for-profit companies, if you are a tradesman you could do Saturday work for the poor. If you are a stay at home mom you could look after an extra kid one day a week so that a parent can work. Whatever way you live your life, see if there is room to help others.
