What's Your Favorite?
A chat with Hal Donaldson, founder of Convoy of Hope.
Before Hal Donaldson founded, Convoy of Hope, an international aid organization based in Springfield, he was a journalist in California. Along with reporting and editing, he also did some ghostwriting. “You interview them, and you take all their information, their ideas, and you construct it into a book,” Donaldson explains. “And they have their name on it, and you don’t.” Speaking of the people he was writing for, Donaldson jokes: “I wouldn’t say there were any well-known people. Just people who wanted to be well known.” Although physically and professionally he is a long way from those days, his mission seems the same for Convoy as it was in his ghostwriting days. He hears people’s stories, listens to their needs, and helps to construct the rest of their story, all the while remaining in the background.
Donaldson has an effortless confidence that exudes humility. he explains that he acquired his desire to help those in need from his own experiences. After his father was killed by a drunk driver when Donaldson was a child, he had a difficult upbringing. “I’d have to draft one of my brothers to cut my hair because we couldn’t afford a haircut,” remembers Donaldson. “I tell people that I looked punk before there was such a thing.” In his easy way, he puts it simply, “I just one day hoped to give back to kids like me.”
In 14 years, Convoy of Hope has helped nearly 23 million people with outreach events, which provide food, medical care, and of course, haircuts. Demonstrating the pervasive reach of the organization these days, when Hurricane Ike was tearing through the Caribbean in August, not only was Convoy in Galveston and Houston with supplies, but they were also in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba. Convoy of Hope has certainly gotten big, yet is still not that complicated. They’re just helping to write new chapters to people’s stories.
What’s Your Favorite…
Place traveled to for Convoy?
“Kenya. It’s there where I really began to see the potential for doing something worldwide instead of just the U.S. It was there that I became angry enough at what I was seeing.”
Exotic food eaten while traveling?
“I am a sushi fanatic. Wherever I travel, I try to figure out whether or not there’s sushi.”
Story of someone you’ve helped?
“When I go to the stateside Convoys, I like to work in different areas. This particular time I was working in the hot-dog stand. This kid walks up, and you could tell that he was pretty hungry. He asked me, ‘Can I have a hot dog?’ and I said, ‘Sure. Do you want one with mustard? Do you want one with ketchup? One with ketchup and mustard? Or one plain?’ He looked back at me with the saddest eyes you can imagine and said, ‘Can I have one of each?’ I loaded him up, and he proceeded to stick one hot dog in each pocket. It was awesome.”
Punctuation mark?
“Period, because that means I’m done.”
Service that you provide to people?
“This may shock people, but it’s the haircuts and the manicures. The line tends to be long. It’s because you walk in there, and people are telling you they’re getting their first professional haircut they’ve had in years. You see these children who have gone to school with their hair looking kind of frazzled and women who get their fingernails done and pedicures and just walk out feeling like a million bucks. I love that. I absolutely love it.”
Cleaning product?
“Irish Spring. Also, we have a ton of Lysol for disasters.”
Anthropomorphic animal?
“Because I have two younger daughters, cartoons are on at our house quite a bit. I guess there’s a movie called Bolt.”
Journalist?
“Tim Russert. I thought he was the epitome of a journalist in the sense that he was willing to ask the tough questions, but he always did it in a respectful way.”
Book you’ve written?
“Midnight in the City. It was the most honest, it was the most vulnerable. It revealed my own pride and misunderstanding.”
Street in Springfield?
“Glenstone. What I like about Glenstone is that it’s a reminder of the new and the old. You drive from one end to the other, and you see both.”
Type of sauce?
“My wife would answer this way: It must be tomato-based, because if it’s cream based, it’s more caloric.”
