The Giveback...it's work

When my son was diagnosed with cancer on April 1, 2019, it rocked our world. It shook everything from our daily routine to our core values & beliefs. Everything was in question & everything was going to change.

One of the things that came up relatively quickly for me was giving back. I remember in the first week of diagnosis I had signed up, & donated, to help Alex's Lemonade Stand raise money for pediatric cancer research during their Million Mile in September. I think it was a way to feel like I was doing something. A way to stay connected to other people in similar situations. A way to feel like I was helping when everything around me was so foreign & most things, positive or negative, were not up to me.

As our treatment progressed and we started to settle in, Baxley, my son, had grown fond of wagons as his primary mode of transport. My wife & I thought that it would be great to give some wagons to the hospitals for the kids. We knew there were other organizations out there doing the same, but there is always room for more. So we thought.

We had the wagons priced out to be outfitted with IV pole extensions, real tires, no-tip steering & in a lot of different colors. As we started asking questions, we realized the red tape involved in getting something approved to be a fixture in a hospital. After about 15 emails of questions, I started to think "there has to be a better way to help these kids."

There are tons of organizations that support families fighting cancer. Through one of those, we had the idea that we would forego the hospital give back & take a wagon straight to the families. The wagon we used would fold up quickly & easily & fit in the trunk of a car. One day, after seeing a closet full of wagons that were not being used by the hospital, it just made sense that we give the wagons directly to families that say they want one. We will forego all the red tape & take a solution directly to the source.

This was a monumental moment. We had been patient in figuring out where the biggest need was. We had noticed that we were in our own fight against cancer & don't have the bandwidth to deal with compliance boards at various hospitals.

The problem was that we had donations already & we needed to serve that money.

No one ever questioned our integrity around the money. Thankfully. We still try to keep everyone informed. Currently, the cost to place a wagon is down to less than $100 per wagon from the original $250. Materials & outfitting are the difference. With that, we have 11 wagons fully funded & are looking for the families that need them. We are meeting people, asking questions & making it known what we do. That is as much "red tape" as we are willing to deal with.

Baxley's Wagons are a gift from one family and their community to another family. It's that simple. Next week, our first wagon will be placed with an amazing little boy named Jackson. We are so exited for Jackson, but, also, because the hours of thought & prayer around this small component of our fight will have come to fruition. We will be helping a child in their own fight with cancer.

I think that the give back can be too daunting to execute for a lot of people. If it's your primary job, that is one thing. If all you want to do is try to help, that is another. We have found that knowing your own bandwidth to do extra work & finding the real source of a need are vital elements in the right path appearing.

We were patient, but we had purpose. We were in the middle of our own fight, so we had common ground with the people that need a wagon. We were using our wagon daily & sharing Baxley's story with people. Just by being a human that solved a need for ourselves & being willing to share that with other people the answer showed up. The answer was HUG YOUR PEOPLE!

Impact doesn't have to be complex. You can bypass the red tape & just go for the heart. Give a gift. You don't need to brand it, logo it or take credit for it. You just need to make it available for people that might need it & tell them that it is here for them.

Since the wagon solution, we have solved our t-shirt & hat solution to help pediatric cancer research with a local printing company. We have had tons of people show up with big hearts offering assistance. We are able to help others while we help ourselves. That is the sweet spot & that is the life we will live from here moving forward.

HYP!

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