PHILANTHROPY / EMPATHY WORKS
Accelerated Giving.Built into business.
I want the work that earns a living to also create the means to give. Through Empathy Works, I’m building a model that connects business income with community care—guided by my spirituality and my own experience with food insecurity.
MY EXPERIENCE / MY SPIRITUALITY
I know what
food insecurity feels like.
I have battled food insecurity myself. That experience is part of why this work matters so deeply to me. When I think about someone trying to meet a basic need, I recognize a struggle I have known in my own life.
Spirituality is a major influence on how I live and what I build. For me, Christ consciousness means practicing love, recognizing our connection to one another, and choosing compassion in the ordinary moments of life. It asks something of me: to let what I believe become something I actually do.
I believe we have the freedom to question the rules we’ve inherited about success, wealth, and what a business is supposed to be. We can imagine a different way to live. What matters to me is choosing to do good with that freedom, simply because I can.
“My spirituality becomes real in the way I care for another person.”
01 / WHERE IT STARTED
A box at work.
A place to begin.
While I was working at Rooms To Go and starting Empathy Landscaping, I organized a food drive at my job. I made a sign, set out a box, and invited the people around me to contribute.
I didn’t need to have everything figured out to do something useful. That box gave us a simple way to help our neighbors, together.
“Giving was never something I wanted to wait until later to do.”
02 / FOOD, MUSIC & CONNECTION
More than
a meal.
I would drop off food donations at the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen. I also brought my grill, cooked for people who needed a meal, and played music.
I wanted to create a good atmosphere: a little warmth, a little conversation, and a reminder that somebody cares. Music and food were ways to share the same message—empathy.
Meet the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen
THE EVERYDAY PART OF GIVING
One collection.
One grocery run at a time.
Fresh food, pantry staples, and groceries for our neighbors. These are moments from the work behind the idea.
03 / A LITTLE JOY GOES A LONG WAY
A day to
feel part of something.
I paid for the T-shirts for a third-grade field day at a local Greenville elementary school.
Being able to contribute to a day like this matters to me. Community care can be a meal or a practical essential. It can also be helping children share a happy moment together.
04 / CARE THAT MEETS A REAL NEED
Warmth.
Dignity.
Someone showing up.
I used extra money from landscaping services to buy sleeping bags and camping supplies for people facing harsh weather without reliable shelter.
I also bought feminine hygiene products and other essentials for women and families with children in that situation. I wanted the money earned through my work to help meet needs I could see in my community.
The landscaping behind the giving
HOW ACCELERATED GIVING WORKS
A business that earns.
A sister nonprofit that gives.
Self-funding is central to the model I’m building. My businesses generate income, and I direct a portion of what I earn toward giving through Empathy Works. The work itself helps create the resources to meet a community need.
Do useful work.
The businesses provide services and products that create income.
Fund the purpose.
A portion of those earnings supports the giving carried out through Empathy Works.
Put care into action.
Food, warmth, essentials, and practical support reach people in our community.
A sister organization.
A purpose of its own.
The business has its work to do. Empathy Works, our sister nonprofit, exists for the purpose of doing good. Together, they give earning and giving a place in the same larger vision.
Build the capacity
to keep giving.
I call this Accelerated Giving because I want the ability to help to grow alongside the work. A sustainable business can create an ongoing source of support. Partners and people who share the purpose can help that support reach further.
I want other owners to see what is possible here: build generosity into the business, and give it a dedicated home through a sister nonprofit or a lasting community partnership. Doing good is reason enough to create something.
- 01
Listen first.
Talk with a local organization. Learn what people actually need and where your help can be useful.
- 02
Plan the giving.
Choose a contribution the business can sustain. Give it a place in the budget and a clear community purpose.
- 03
Give it a home.
Bring the commitment to life through a dedicated giving organization or a community partner who understands the need.
- 04
Keep showing up.
Ask what helped. Learn from the people you serve, and adjust as the business and the need change.
CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS / LOVE IN PRACTICE
Choose love.
Give it something to do.
For me, living with Christ consciousness means recognizing the dignity in another person and responding with care. A meal, a sleeping bag, a box of supplies—these are ways I can put love into practice with the resources I have.
I want that awareness to shape my decisions as an owner, too. The question becomes: what can this work make possible for someone else? That is the spiritual thread running through Empathy Works, and the reason I keep returning to it.
I can choose compassion. I can build around it. I can begin with what I have.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Local roots.
Room to grow.
Empathy Works is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We are establishing our board as we prepare to expand across South Carolina and, over time, throughout the Southeast.
One day, I want to open a food bank. That is a goal I’m working toward. The next step is building the people, partnerships, and steady support to make more of this work possible.
KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN
Stronger
communities.
Food and practical essentials are at the heart of this work. I also want to help people build confidence with money, find support for a small business, and feel included in the places they live.
Through Empathy Works, the year-round food drive connects the Empathy Landscaping community with the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen. It is a practical way to help feed our neighbors, with care that continues beyond a single event.
I want that steady, local commitment to remain at the heart of this work.
Meet the Spartanburg Soup KitchenI want to help make everyday money conversations more approachable: understanding a budget, asking about the cost of borrowing, and working toward a goal. The starting point is clear information people can use in their own lives.
I’m shaping how this can become useful local learning and conversations. In the meantime, these independent educational resources are available now.
Explore financial learning resourcesBuilding a local business has taught me how much the right information and a useful connection can matter. I want to help others find practical support for starting, organizing, and sustaining a small business in their own community.
A direction to develop: connect local owners with learning, mentorship, and people who understand the work.
Find small-business support nearbyEmpathy Landscaping’s support for the Carolina Miracle League is one way this commitment already takes shape. The longer-term Empathy Parks vision is about accessible places where children of different abilities can play and belong.
The park vision is a goal for the future. The commitment to inclusion is part of the work today.
Read the story behind the workLET’S DO SOME GOOD TOGETHER
Bring your time.
Your ideas.
Your empathy.
Tell me how you would like to help. You can volunteer, contribute supplies, explore a business partnership, or express interest in board service.
This form is for getting involved. Share only the contact details and background you’re comfortable providing; please leave out sensitive information about people receiving help.