On Building A Culture Of Givers

             "When I was younger, I had big visions of changing the world."---Rick Danko

The cynics and the self absorbed seek to divide us into a culture of what they have designated as a culture of "makers and takers." We are allowing our children to be raised in a nation that ignores reality and acts as if there are such things as "alternative facts." Character, honor, and integrity are simply not taught or valued. We treat them as forgotten relics of the past--the equivalent of an abacus--useful for its time, but of no significance today.

It need not be this way. There are no small kindnesses. There are no little contributions to a better world. There are no incremental changes. Such dismissive language masks efforts to "tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world," to use Robert Kennedy's adaptation of ancient Greek wisdom.

Every kindness is enormous. Every contribution is significant. And "incremental change" is still change. 

This photo is of a group of Scouts, program participants and volunteers who worked tirelessly yesterday thinning the timber and building wildlife habitat on the silvopasture that we are developing by hand on about fifteen acres of fifty year old mixed timber.

Our program will benefit tremendously from the new silvopasture, but it is the kids in this picture who stand to benefit the most. None could afford to give such a large financial contribution that we could hire professionals to clear the land, but each could afford to give of their time and effort to get the job done.

As they get older they will be able to make more of an impact with their contributions to the effort to make gentle the life of this world.

We have no paid staff. Everyone is a volunteer. We have never turned a family away for inability  to pay program fees. Our business model and planning development models would appall any business school graduate. 

Our program is driven by experience, memories , and strong examples. Our business model is based on the fact that as Momma lay dying  of cancer, she made sure that there was food in the freezer that was on her porch so that anyone in the neighborhood who could not afford food for their family could simply stop by and get what they needed. 

"When we were young we thought we could save the world. Now we are here to help out in the neighborhood."-----Rick Danko