For the past several years, an anonymous Woodsman in the Catskills Mountain region has kept our neighbors—many of them elderly or ill—warm in winter by providing free firewood. He delivers seasoned, ready-to-burn logs sometimes within hours of a request—no questions asked.

The Guardian wrote about this grassroots charity: "An older couple had burned through their "last stick of wood," recounted the article. "Within hours, the woodsman came to the rescue. 'They said they and their spouse were huddled under the blankets upstairs, the fire long gone out, freezing cold, when they saw headlights in their drive and the soul-warming sound of wood being thrown on to the gravel. He got them through until the power was restored.'"

Here's what another recipient of free firewood wrote to The Woodsman: "No heat. No water. Five degrees overnight. If we did not have that wood, my wife who is battling cancer and I would have to abandon ship... you helped us avert utter calamity."

And then, The Woodsman's beat-up 1997 Ford truck died, forcing him to temporarily stop his vital work for our community in the middle of winter. His concerned local fans identified a sturdier used pickup truck that quickly put him back on the road with numerous, generous donations. Now, please help this local hero continue to assist our vulnerable neighbors with funds towards gas and chainsaw repairs! Our communities need each other now more than ever, thank you!

Photo by Landon Speers.