WOOD FOR WARRIORS
We are a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit focused on cutting, splitting, and delivering firewood at no cost, for veterans.
OUR MISSION & HISTORY
In the fall of 2019, we started this mission after a storm came through our area, which lead to trees being down everywhere. We saw a surplus of firewood and felt we could give back to our veterans through processing and delivering the wood. We only had axes to split the wood, and after a few months we decided to invest into a wood splitter. We delivered 31 loads our first year, 92 the second and have continued to grow each year thereafter.
Wood for Warriors is dedicated to providing free firewood to veterans in need. Our organization was founded with the mission of supporting and honoring our veterans by ensuring they have access to a vital resource. We are committed to upholding the legacy of our servicemen and women, and our history is woven with stories of gratitude and service to those who have sacrificed for our country.
NEWS FEATURES
2025
QUEEN CITY NEWS/ FOX CHARLOTTE
In January of 2025, Queen City News/Fox Charlotte featured our mission to deliver free firewood to veterans. We are dedicated to supporting those who have served our country, ensuring they have access to essential resources. Through community partnerships and volunteer efforts, we strive to make a meaningful impact in the lives of veterans in our area.
Click Here to see the interview!
Hickory volunteers deliver firewood to veterans on the coldest week of the winter
John Le
Thu, January 23, 2025 at 7:22 PM EST
HICKORY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – The hum of hardware comes with a pastime that became a passion.They split, they saw, the dueling chainsaws roar for a single cause.When Aaron Burgin founded Wood for Warriors five years ago, he didn’t realize how much need is out there.“We didn’t,” he told Queen City News, pausing for a moment as the scope of his impact seemed to sink in. “We didn’t understand the impact it would have when it started.“
On one of the coldest weeks in years, this group is just warming up. Wood for Warriors delivers free firewood to veterans within a one-hour radius of their Hickory base.
After they process the lumber, it’s time for a fist bump and moments that make it all worthwhile.
“Oh, you’re very welcome, Joe!” Burgin said on his first delivery of the afternoon.
Joe Howard of Hickory served in the U.S. Army.
“Did you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year?” Burgin asked.
“Thank you, God bless you,” Howard says.
“You’re very welcome,” said Burgin.
“I’m 82, but I prefer to say I’m 50 with 32 years of experience. Yahoo!” says Howard.
Howard is a Cold War veteran who ironically battles the chill of winter these days.
“We’re down to about 10 pieces of wood, enough to get halfway through the night and the delivery is just in time,” Howard said. “It’s going to help a whole lot.”
“When we started going out to these homes, we didn’t know that these people were going to be in need like they are,” Burgin says. We didn’t know that they felt forgotten.”
Burgin’s sons Brayton and Raylan come along to help unload.
“Two young men that need to be good leaders when they get older and this is a good way to start that education,” he explained.
It’s just as eye-opening for adult volunteers like Clay Northcutt.
“Sometimes, I’ve seen [the veterans], they’ll start to tear up,” said Northcutt.
“It’s really something when someone that never asks for anything gets something done for them, it’s just a gratifying feeling.”
Wood for Warriors makes about 150 deliveries a year. The firewood comes from local companies and individual donors.
What they haul can be a money-saver and a lifesaver.
The next load goes to Marine veteran Scott Stillwell of Valdese.
“[They’re doing this] because I was a vet, that’s the good thing about it,” he explained to a family member.
“He probably brought me $250 worth of wood today for free to keep my family warm for winter, cozy. And not just me, the other veterans around the county,” Stillwell said.
Every vet they meet stokes the fire to continue.
“I mean their sacrifice for our freedom, I think we should be doing a lot more for them,” says Burgin.
2021
WBTV NEWS CHANNEL 3
In 2021 WBTV News Channel 3 interviewed us to get the story of
our mission to deliver free firewood to veterans.
By WBTV Web Staff
Published: Dec. 16, 2021 at 6:20 PM EST|
Updated: Dec. 18, 2021 at 8:45 AM EST
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) -
"The temperatures are getting colder.
For some people, their only source of heat is fire.
But you need firewood for that. So one man is stepping up to make things a little easier on our veterans. Aaron Burgin, from Wood for Warriors, had been searching for ways to give back to veterans.
That affinity started when one of his helpers on the farm was a veteran.
“Many want to show appreciation to the veterans don’t know how,” Burgin said. “We figured we can maybe get a platform together that could fill that void. Last year, we had the storms roll through, I kept seeing free firewood.”
“We have all the equipment already in place with the farm. And we just decided we would go and try to make a difference. Basically, we find a donation of a tree.”
They cut, split and stacked the wood and give it directly to veterans – for free.
“These people sacrifice for our freedom,” Burgin said. “We get to enjoy the comfort of their sacrifice daily. I think it’s very important to show my children a good example, appreciation for others, giving to others. For several veterans that we deliver, this is their only heat source. They don’t have a furnace. They don’t have HVAC. They’re solely heated by wood. And clearly, we want to find those people first.”
Jerry Clark, an Army veteran, accepts firewood from Wood for Warriors.
He said he initially joined the military to get out of poverty.
“So, I was very poor growing up,” Clark said. “So, I joined at 17 and got out when my time was six and a half years. I was looking for wood on the internet. I wanted to buy some firewood and I saw this guy’s website and I was like, ‘well, this is a scam, but I’m going to give it a shot.’ I was like, Amen.”
Burgin said he challenges others to give back to the community, and especially veterans.
“So challenge to others out there, find a way to give back with full hearts always,” Burgin said. “Always something that you can’t buy, you kind of have to find ways to fill that heart. And this is definitely one of them.”
For information on Wood for Warriors, visit their Facebook page.
Copyright 2021 WBTV. All rights reserved."
2020
THE HICKORY DAILY RECORD
In 2020 Hickory Daily Record interviewed us for the Notable Neighbor section, the article is below.
Notable Neighbor Aaron Burgin started nonprofit to help veterans.
November 30, 2020 Updated Jan 4, 2022
Hickory resident Aaron Burgin saw a need in his community and decided to take action.
“If you talk about it, be about it,” Burgin said. This was his mindset when he started chopping wood and delivering it to veterans in need of a supplemental heat source during the winter. “They’ve already served us; it’s time to serve them,” he added.
This year he created a nonprofit dedicated to supplying veterans with wood for heat during the colder months. It’s called Wood for Warriors.“I started with veterans because I felt like we need to take care of them first,” Burgin said. “We want to give the community an example of reaching out and doing something on their own to help others.”
When Burgin isn’t preoccupied with one of the three businesses he operates with his wife — Mountain Spring Doodles, Mountain Spring Farms, and The Farmer's Freezer — he and a few friends are making arrangements to pick up wood, chop it up, and deliver it to veterans in Catawba County and surrounding areas.
One friend who helps with Wood for Warriors is Jared Weaver, an Army veteran who served four years including time in Iraq during 2017. “It gives you a sense of pride to help a community that never really asked for help,” he said. “Vietnam veterans and (Gulf War veterans) are getting older and are starting to get to the age where they can’t do some stuff for themselves,” Weaver continued. “As the years go by, they kind of get kicked back further and further, and people forget about them. This is just another way to help them out.”
Burgin got the inspiration to help a population in need after being involved with Rescue and Relief, with a nonprofit volunteer group that responds to natural disasters.“I went to Lake Charles, Louisiana earlier this year after Hurricane Laura hit. We’ve done a lot of work in the Bahamas. We got together on our coast after Hurricane Florence in 2018,” Burgin explained. He’s been involved with the group for three years. "When we first started with the Rescue and Relief we were all doing it on our dime, paying out of pocket to help,” Burgin said. After some planning, the group was able to be established as a nonprofit and accept donations from folks wanting to help.“We knew that we could make a difference, and it just kept coming back to the question of, ‘Well, why don’t we? What’s stopping us?’ That’s the inspiration behind Wood for Warriors, too,” Burgin said.
Burgin sees his nonprofit eventually including other areas of need, as well. “Maybe there’s a paraplegic coming home who needs a ramp built, or someone who needs help paying for their prescriptions — wherever there’s a need, we’d want to fill the void,” he said. “We’re just starting out. There’s no telling what it might turn into.”For now, Burgin and his team of big-hearted friends will focus on providing wood to veterans. “This is something they can put into their everyday lives and use. This is something beneficial for them, and not something they have to wait for,” he explained.
“I would love to team up with someone that does chimney sweeping and give (veterans) a good discount. So while we’re there delivering the wood, we can make sure their flue is clean and they’re not going to have a problem in the future, or if their gutters need cleaning — something minor that we could help with while we’re there, we would love to be able to do that,” Burgin said.
Burgin said Wood for Warriors' biggest problem right now is finding veterans in need of wood. “We’ve got more wood on the ground than we do people to deliver it to — that’s not a problem we want to have,” he said.“People get the misconception that we are wanting to do this for people who can’t do it for themselves — that’s not the case at all,” Burgin continued. “(The veterans) don’t have to be disabled; they can be able-bodied and just not have time to cut their own wood. They’ve already served us; it’s time for us to give back.
”Burgin also hopes people learn by example. “We want to spark a movement to go out in your community and make a difference,” he said.“Right now, we need all of the community we can get,” Burgin continued. “We’re so divided as a country, and even as locals. I feel like as a community, we aren’t looking at each other as much; we’re looking at a TV to tell us how to feel and that’s never going to go well."
Burgin urges others to start looking for ways to help people in their communities. “There are plenty of great ideas out there. I am by no means an inventor,” he laughed. “I just saw a need that I could help with. We’ll see where it goes."
If interested in volunteering, donating, or if you know of a veteran who could benefit from Wood for Warriors, visit https://www.facebook.com/wood4warriors/ for more information.
Emily Willis is a general assignment and education reporter at the Hickory Daily Record.