‘Not always about taking’: Chippie digs deep for charity

A tradesman has chosen to donate five per cent of the fee from every job to a charity which saved his life last year.

Luke Hamilton, owner of Luke's Tree Services, with his daughter Finlay and son Ory.

A GLADSTONE tradesman has chosen to donate five per cent of his fee from every job to the charity which saved his life last year.

Following an incident at the Gladstone Airport where the Royal Flying Doctor Service was required, Luke Hamilton, 31, has chosen to donate a fee Lukes Tree Services charges to the service. He preferred not to go into detail about the incident.

"It has been on my mind since then, 'how do I pay back these people who were nice to me?'" Mr Hamilton said.

"I am now in a position where I can give back to them and the community.

"The idea has been there for a while but I went ahead with it last week."

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is unaware of Mr Hamilton's gesture.

"The RFDS don't know that I am doing it but I am going to keep a tally up on our Facebook page and give everyone the thumbs up for their efforts," he said.
"I don't know how it is going to unfold but there is only positivity which can come out of it so I just thought I would give it a go."

Mr Hamilton said the feedback for the idea from clients and other members of the community had been fantastic.

"So many people have reached out to me and said how fantastic an idea this was," Mr Hamilton said.

"I haven't really followed suit from any other business, I've just wanted to do this because I want to do it."

Mr Hamilton encourages Gladstone businesses donating to charities.

"If you want positive vibes around your business from the community, geeze, I couldn't suggest anything more than donating a part of your service fee to charity," he said.

"The decision was positive for me, my clients and the Royal Flying Doctor Service so it was a no-brainer."