When we think of a generous person, we may tend to think of someone who gives from what she already has in order to help others. Unfortunately, this idea can lead to the conclusion that we must first earn before we can think about how to give. This is a false paradigm.

The life of Margaret Haughery – “Bread Woman of New Orleans” – serves to illustrate the proper sense of generosity.

In the late 1830s, Margaret Gaffney Haughery was a laundress at the upscale St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans. There she was surrounded by wealthy guests and luxurious accommodations.

Yet out of her laundry room window, Margaret could see the poor of the city. She watched them, and she watched others who provided food and help to families who could not afford it. Margaret determined that she, too, would do what she could to help the needy of New Orleans.

With her meager savings, Margaret purchased two cows and, using a hand cart, she began to sell milk from door to door. Before long, she had earned enough to help a local religious charity purchase a building for an orphanage. She even worked many late nights to clean and renovate the building.

Margaret also reinvested in her business so that by 1840, she had between 30 and 40 cows and was delivering to both residential and commercial districts. One of her regular customers was a bakery that was far behind in making payments. Eventually, the bakery failed. What remained of the facilities was turned over to Margaret in back payment.

Margaret reopened the bakery and soon made it profitable. Instead of running a milk cart, Margaret began a bread route. She distributed her bread for free or at greatly reduced prices to orphanages and other charities.

While the fruits of Margaret’s efforts were expanding, she never lost sight of her reason for beginning. She never forgot what she had seen out of her laundry room window at the St. Charles Hotel.

Over the course of her lifetime, Margaret helped found 11 orphanages and several homes for the elderly. Those are the projects that can be counted. Innumerable are the individual families and children she supported from her income – and her heart.

When Margaret died in 1882, she left $600,000 to various charities – in a will that she signed with an X. She had never had the advantage of learning to read or write, and she had received no education to become a successful businesswoman.

Yet Margaret Haughery identified needs she wanted to meet, carefully managed her resources, and shared those resources in order to meet the needs. That is true generosity.

Share on the Job

The provision is actually the word vision with the addition of a prefix meaning “before.” To provide means that someone has looked ahead and made preparation for what is to come.

What do you see in the future for your family, your community, and your nation? What needs are on the horizon? Generosity is not limited to meeting today’s needs with today’s resources. Giving out of present resources is a valid and important part of generosity. However, there are many needs you may not presently have the means to meet. A lack of resources right now does not limit you from the ability to be generous.

Share what you can today to meet present needs. Also, think creatively about how you might develop new resources for meeting specific needs that are of concern to you.


Article courtesy of Character First

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