People Are Primary

Wilson Lumber has a partnership with an organization called Awakening Hope. The purpose of Awakening Hope is “to Empower Christian-led teams to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, awakening hope in both the marginalized people we serve and those who are serving”.

How did a building materials provider team up with an organization like that? Well, that’s a long story for another time. Anyway, they recently wrote an end-of-summer update about some very cool things we got to partner with them on this year so far. Read more about it here.

Now and then I’ll begin thinking, especially in a weaker housing market, that maybe we should not be so involved in this ministry to Guatemala. That maybe we should keep more money in our own bank account. But then I see this, and I remember the people, and how they’ve grown and how we’ve grown. I think through all the times we’ve been there, and it’s exciting and incredibly rewarding to be a part of something so much larger than us.

I know about some of the things you do to give back to your people, our community and even our world. We are in an industry that excels at that. But perhaps you haven’t thought through how to give back yet. Maybe it just hasn’t hit your radar. That’s perfectly okay.

But how about now? Yes, the market is soft right now. Maybe the action item for you is to choose an organization you’d like to partner with (like Awakening Hope), and set some checkpoints in place for when you would like to do something. If we reach X dollars in revenue, then I’ll give this much. Or when we sell Y houses, we’ll partner in this way.

I don’t know what it looks like for you. But I know that in times when business is a little more challenging, it’s comforting to remember that there are bigger things that we contribute to other than the latest Income Statement. Those are important, but people are primary.

And remember, even if now is not a time you deem good to directly give back, you are a partner in caring for our local and global community through every mission Wilson Lumber supports.