Generosity As A Love Language

What is better than kindness? Kindness exponentially repeated.

Last time, I wrote about the wonderful generosity of folks who contributed to a Go Fund Me account for grandson Hayes to help with fundamental home improvements and transportation needs. The response was incredibly helpful. Thanks to all involved.

Then, another Godwink followed. My mentor in business was the late, great Spencer Hays who resurrected my nearly 160 year old company in the late 1970’s to become a successful spawning ground for entrepreneurship learned and practiced by talented young people. His business built people who, in turn, built opportunities for themselves and for others. I have loved working for him and his vision.

Spencer dearly loved his mother in Texas, Mary Moore. So much so, that he established the Mary Moore Foundation, a non-profit organization that distributes donated funds to employees and select non-employees with special needs caused by the unexpected.

The foundation is managed by trusted former work colleagues of Spencer, and our astute V.P. of H.R. funnels requests to them. After prayerful thought, and some encouragement from others who are familiar with the MMF, I humbly asked for help to fund assistive transportation for grandson Hayes. His mom worked with Spencer during a couple of years prior, and many in my workplace know Hayes’ story with DMD.

I submitted a letter with the help of my caring VP of HR ally and made the application in the name of Hayes’ mom, with dad’s blessing. Wow. In just a few days, the request for a sum to be decided by the Trustees was quickly granted, and a check for several thousand dollars reached my grandson’s mailbox just yesterday. The mentoring and nurturing care of Spencer Hays lives on. But, that is only part of this special story.

A week before the check arrived, I was told that the application had been approved for a significant amount I could hardly imagine. That following Sunday afternoon, in our home, with Hayes, his mom and dad, my son who is Hayes’ Uncle Bubba, and my wife Mimi, I got everyone’s attention and declared that Spencer Hayes’s spirit of giving lived on and that we were receiving several thousand dollars for assistive transportation for grandson and daughter.

Hayes jumped up, exclaimed out loud the amount of the award, called us all to a group hug, and we solemnly rejoiced. Get that … even a 7 year old clearly understood the wonderful magnitude of generosity given by a servant leader whom Hayes would never know personally, but now certainly knows to be real.

May God bless servant leaders who use their generosity as a love language.

Kindly yours,

Papa in Franklin