By Scot Kersgaard

It was a spur of the moment thing, raising money for a food bank.

Every December my wife and I host a party at our mountain house. We invite our friends to come cut a tree and make a wreath or two. One year, eight or so years ago, we decided that most people who came and cut a tree otherwise would have bought one, and we thought, “hey, let’s put a jar out and raise money for a food bank.”

That first year, we didn’t even know what we would do with the money. We needed to find a food bank. On the road to our house is a little place called Loaves and Fishes. I didn’t know what it was, but I stopped on my way back to the city. Lo and behold, it was a food bank, so I emptied my pockets of crumpled bills and was on my way. I have no idea how much we raised that year, but we’ve done the same thing every year. This year, we raised at least $305. I say at least $305 because that is how much money our friends threw in the jar. I’ll add at least $45 because I like even numbers.

You may not be able to let people cuts trees on your property, but you might be surprised if next time you held a party you put a jar some place conspicuous with the name of a favorite charity taped to the front.  Not only would you raise some money but you would also start conversations about your favorite charity and give your own friends the idea that maybe they could do the same thing.

It’s a little thing, but year after year it adds up.