Donut stop believing in the power of giving
Brian Van Norman started making doughnuts back in 1997. A newly minted North Carolinian, he was an NC State student and took a job at Daylight Donuts in Raleigh. He didn’t know anything about the business.
“It takes a lot of patience to make doughnuts. I didn’t know they were fried. I thought they were baked.”
Brian went on to become the head baker for 15 years and eventually bought the business from his mentor and former boss.
Dough-nating for a cause
Flash forward to the COVID pandemic. Business was slow and Brian had a lot of doughnuts on his hands. He hated to just throw them away. That’s when he decided to give them away to The Salvation Army, Oak City Cares and the USO—for returning soldiers at the Raleigh Durham Airport. He’s been doing it ever since.
“I donate and Knights of Columbus volunteers deliver them. What I enjoy about it is the way it makes me feel. Knowing I’m putting a smile on someone’s face.”
Brian’s calling to give was sparked by a man he met as a young boy—a janitor originally from Columbia who didn’t speak English very well and who worked at the Boys and Girls Club near the apartment where Brian lived. He later learned “Jumbo” had a drinking problem and lost his job. One day he found him sleeping in a neighborhood park.
“I went up and talked to him and every time I saw him, he would give me a quarter and told me to go get some candy. He told me some day he would take me fishing.”
When Brian was 13 his mother told him there was something at her office for him. With the help of Brian's mom, Jumbo had written a letter explaining that he was getting older and probably wouldn’t be able to go fishing but he had saved up his money and bought Brian a fishing pole.
“That’s where it all started for me. Someone who had so very little was giving something to me to make me happy. I’ve carried that with me ever since.”
We like you a hole lot
Brian was recently recognized by The Salvation Army and the Knights of Columbus for his generosity. The Knights of Columbus honored him with a reception and a plaque for his “generous spirit and willingness to serve those in need.”
The Salvation Army also presented Brian with a certificate thanking him for delighting “hundreds of children who have called our shelter home, brought comfort and happiness to the women and men facing hunger, homelessness, or in need of a hand up when their daily work is insufficient to make ends meet each week.”
Brian admits he gives away his donuts away at the end of the day and that he doesn’t always get to see the impact firsthand. At his recognition dinner, he was touched to hear from one of the people benefitting from his kindness.
“She told me as a homeless person you don’t usually get any choices. You get what you get, but because I’m able to give such a variety of doughnuts for people to pick from she appreciated that. So that made me feel good. I’ve tried to always do good for those who have less.”
Thank you for caring and sharing Brian. Just what the world needs more of…and of course more doughnuts.