Chris Monroe never set out to become part of a school lunch relief effort.

After retiring from a career as a firefighter in Missouri, Monroe spent some of his free time working with wood and practicing his craft as a bladesmith. One of his earliest projects was fairly simple: he made wooden swords for his grandchildren.

The homemade creations caught the attention of other children around him.

Soon, Monroe was making swords for kids beyond his own family. What had started as something to keep his hands busy had developed into a small side project with a growing group of young fans.

Then a conversation with his son-in-law changed the direction of the hobby.

Andrew Crawford is a teacher, and he told Monroe about a problem schools encounter regularly: students can accumulate unpaid meal balances even when their families are not eligible for traditional assistance. Families who earn slightly too much to qualify for certain programs can still have difficulty covering all of their expenses.

Monroe began thinking about how his woodworking could help.

He eventually decided that the swords could serve another purpose. Rather than simply accepting payment for his work, he began using the money raised through the project to support local students.

His approach is straightforward. People make a donation when Monroe creates one of his handmade swords, and the money is collected over the course of the school year. Once the school year ends, Monroe gives the funds to local school districts to help reduce outstanding student lunch balances.

The contributions are made in individual children’s names, giving the donations a personal connection to the young people they are intended to help.

The woodworking itself is no small undertaking. Monroe creates each piece by hand, and some of his more detailed designs require dozens of hours. One sword he has made, which he refers to as a crusader sword, had already consumed at least 25 hours of work.

Yet the finished product represents only part of what Monroe gets from the project.

Children who receive his swords sometimes keep in touch with him afterward. They send messages about how they are using the creations, and Monroe responds. That interaction has become an unexpected part of his retirement.

The project has also created an opportunity for children to see an important connection between receiving something and giving something back.

They get a handmade item they enjoy, while also learning that the effort surrounding it can help another student.

For Monroe, that appears to have become the real reward. A pastime that began with a few wooden swords in a garage has evolved into a way for him to remain connected to his community and help children at the same time.

He may have retired from fighting fires, but he has found another way to make a difference.