... I am considering just donating the wood to someone who struggles to heat their home .
The problem is finding the "right" person(s) as I wouldn't want to give it to someone who was just out to get a free ride. Around here, any able bodied person can go cut their own firewood in the forest as long as they have a saw and truck/trailer (did it for years myself). So I would prefer that an elderly or disabled person got it. But, that person is unlikely to be able to cut, split, haul and stack it. What have I gotten myself into???:confused3:
I did have a chat with my tenant (a minister) this morning about it. He is going to look for possible recipients
When some of the other co-owners of a 115 acre conserved, working forest and I started donating a couple cords of firewood a year to families in need, our biggest problem was finding recipients. We did not want to just advertise, since we did not want to be giving wood to someone who would just turn around and sell it for beer drinking money. However, we did also did not want to be in the position of having to ask about someone's personal financial affairs.
We got by for several years by just talking to the guidance counselor at the local elementary school. She had been in the area for years, and geerally was able to figure out what families were struggling. She'd then discretely find out from the kids if they heated with wood. If that was the case, she'd let us know, and we'd make a cord of wood show up in their yard when no one was around. We stayed anonymous, and the recipient did not have to face dealing with someone dropping off wood. If someone was home, we'd just say "someone asked us to deliver a cord of wood here". When they said "I didn't order it", we'd say "it's already paid for, and we're here, you might as well take it. We don't want to have to drive back to the yard and unload." We'd also announce in church and ask folks to mention it if they knew of someone in need, and we'd ask the minister to keep an eye out.
When we expanded this to a community effort and had more than just a couple of cords to give away, we connected with a non-profit social service organization who was already in the business of helping people who were in real need. They do the intake, send us contact info for folks in need of firewood in our area. They can also connect people with other resources to help out. We don't have to ask questions about their finances, because the organization has already checked that out and in most cases connected them with other sources of help as well.
The work days have become a community event we'll generally have the wood all cut to length ahead of time (so we don't have every Tom, Dick, and Harry who happens to own a chainsaw running around trying to show everyone how macho he is). Folks will bring their own splitters, and we'll all work a splitting loading hauling and stacking. We've had Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, community members, people who pass through town on their commute to and from work, one woman drove from 40 miles away to come down and help with a work day just because she wanted to be a part of helping out. We have a smaller group of "regulars" who help with last minute emergency deliveries (why do we so often not hear until smeone is loading their last armload of wood into their stoves, in a blizzard, or when it's -15˚F to call?). I tried to count up how many community members were involved in one way or another over the years. I lost count a around 70. People seem to really enjoy the work - I guess it's fun when you don't HAVE to do it.
Got another 5'ish cord stack of logs yesterday. I used to burn about 3 cords a year. But now that I "maybe" burn 1 (or less) cord/yr, my 6 cord wood shed is nearly full, and I have yet another cord stacked around my property to bring in, I am considering just donating the wood to someone who struggles to heat their home (after I first bust my butt getting it out of there of course.....). We'll see. Too much of a good thing I guess.
