The Hillsdale College Catholic Society has introduced a firewood ministry to help local families in need heat their homes during winter. Frederick Woodward | Collegian

The Hillsdale College Catholic Society recently launched an initiative to provide free firewood for local residents.

The program aims to help low-income families heat their homes through the winter, according to Morgan Morrison ’21, the project’s coordinator. Morrison serves as associate director of business and industry for Institutional Advancement at Hillsdale College and said the idea came to him on a road trip to Minnesota.

“There was a Catholic church in this little town called St. Boniface that had advertised a community firewood bank,” Morrison said. “It’s like the concept of a food bank, but with firewood being given away. I immediately thought Hillsdale could probably use one, because there are so many people around here that use firewood for fuel.” 

Deputy Counsel for the college Neal Brady said Morrison reached out to him in advance of the first project’s first wood cutting  at Morrison’s farm on Feb. 8.

“Morgan got a hold of me through email and asked if I wanted to come by,” Brady said. “I brought a couple of good mauls and some chainsaws, and then we just went at it.”

Morrison said he kept the first cutting small for practical and safety reasons. 

“We intentionally started with a small group, just to ensure safety,” Morrison said. “We had the two staff members running chainsaws while five or six students split and stacked wood, and everyone came out of it really enjoying it, wanting to do it again.”

Junior Nathan Fish was part of the initial group of students. 

“It was my first time splitting wood,” Fish said. “There were a lot of guys there that were able to show me different techniques for splitting the wood, and they were able to give me a job that I was able to do. It was great coming out to serve the community.”

Fish said he would be interested in volunteering again.

“Being able to give glory to God through our volunteer hours and to work closely as brothers was great,” Fish said. “I would definitely take the opportunity to do that again.”

The religious aspect of the project is an important part of the equation for Brady. 

“From a spiritual point of view, you’re not just providing people with wood,” Brady said. “You’re providing them with a means of warmth and heat and light, which is a spiritual gift as well. I think the whole idea is a natural fit for the Catholic Society.”

Morrison said he would like to expand the ministry further. 

“I want to see it grow,” Morrison said. “I know it can, but we have several constraints. First is procurement of wood, and second is people to support us with our continued need for equipment. As a ministry of the Catholic Society, this effort is wholly nonprofit.” 

Morrison said he was undeterred by the need for more fuel and equipment.

“I suspect that there’s going to be more demand for this firewood ministry than we’re able to meet at first,” Morrison said. “I think more people are going to be interested in receiving wood from our bank than we’re able to provide. So I would love to see it grow.” 

Brady said the Catholic Society has a surplus of young men interested in volunteering their time to the ministry. 

“There’s more labor available than there is anything else,” Brady said. “It’s a great concept — it gets boys out there working as a unit on a project that’s healthy for people physically, mentally and spiritually. Just having the labor available is a big thing, but this is the kind of labor that’s directed to a fine point for a particular type of project, and that’s actually fun because you learn a lot more that way.”

Junior Samuel Montone said his time at the first cutting was formative. 

“This whole project comes from the Catholic ethos,” Montone said. “Helping the people in our community who are in the most need, this is what the Church has done for 2,000 years. This spirit is what gave us hospitals and universities, this is why we decided to keep volunteering for this project to Catholics — it’s a way to keep alive the Catholic spirit as we extend the mission of the Church.”

At the end of the day, Morrison said, the ministry is about helping community members both physically and spiritually. 

“We open our activities with prayer,” Morrison said. “When we’re giving our firewood to people who are in need, we’re praying for them. We’re welcoming them, inviting them to come to church, to be more involved in church activities and praying for them, if they’d like to be prayed for. It’s a very holistic approach.”