By: Danny May
I wouldn’t call it a torrential downpour, but it was coming down pretty good. That and the 40-degree temperature was enough to keep most people inside. But we had a purpose, a mission. We had agreed to be here. Even paid money to do this.
I’m sure we looked kind of crazy to the few cars passing by. I could imagine them thinking “Why are all those people doing yard work in the rain?”
The answer to that question is what made it all worthwhile. We were working to help bring a baby girl home. We were working for the widow in the house. We were all just doing our small part to serve a greater goal: helping to fund Davi and Jared Tanner’s domestic adoption through their “Both Hands Project.”
I’ve heard lots of different fundraisers for adoptions, but nothing like this, which is why my wife and I signed up. Having adopted our two sons, we have an enormous soft spot for all things adoption. But this was a new one for us.
Both Hands Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their mission is to give “a hand to the orphan and a hand to the widow.” That’s literally what they do. Adoptive parents find a widow in their community who needs a helping hand. Then they invite family, friends, church members, and anyone else who is willing to come and lend a hand on their chosen work day. Anyone unable to help physically can participate by sponsoring one of the volunteers. All the money raised on the workday goes to fund the adoption and the widow gets a spruced up home. Win-win. Genius.
Davi and Jared knew right away whom they wanted to help– a woman from their church who lost her husband in 2011 and just recently experienced a house fire. Together they chose to have a work day on the last Saturday in March. My wife and I signed up, found a sponsor, and showed up ready to work.
We had donuts and coffee from Dunkin Donuts waiting for us. The nip in the air made that coffee taste even better. After a prayer and a few instructions we got right to work.
Our task was cleaning out and organizing the garage. Another small crew worked on cleaning out the woman’s van. Two men fixed her mailbox, which had fallen over. About eight people were raking out flower beds. As soon as the trailer was full of yard debris and trash bags it was taken to the dump. Another truck bed was loaded with metal and taken to a scrap yard, yielding $16 more for the adoption fund.
I didn’t know it at the time, but all the supplies we used that day were donated. ChickFilA and Salsaritas provided lunch, which allowed every penny from the sponsorship pledges to go straight toward the adoption.
Davi said they found out about Both Hands Foundation from a book they were reading called “Adopt Without Debt,” by Julie Gumm. “Adoption is expensive, and we loved the idea of raising funds toward our adoption while helping a widow at the same time,” Tanner said, “Both Hands was amazing to work with; they walked us through each step of planning the project, and they’re truly passionate about the organization’s mission.”
As for the widow, she was ecstatic too. “Big thanks to all the workers. The van looks awesome. Mailbox is fantastic. The garage looks really great. Thanks again. Our God is an awesome God!”
To find out more about Both Hands foundation, visit www.bothhandsfoundation.org. Watch the highlight video of the work day at www.bothhandsfoundation.org/jared-and-davi-tanner.