Make it rain: Farmer donates $1,000 to charity after weekend of precipitation

Rob Stone put his money where his heart is.

On May 14, the farmer from Davidson took to social media to make a pledge.

“Who wants to take my rainy day challenge,” Stone tweeted. “I pledge to donate a thousand dollars to a charity of my choice if it rains a half inch or more at my place by May 25th. No dollars for likes or retweets or anything like that. Join me if you wish.”

The idea for the challenge came to the farmer out of nowhere while he was driving his truck.

“I spent too much time on social media,” Stone told Gormley. “I just thought, ‘I’m going to throw this out there to my #AgTwitter people’ and maybe a few people would get a chuckle out of it and maybe a few people would come along with it.

“The wind is blowing, and I want to try to set a target or something to look forward to for myself, and that is where it started.”

The response to Stone’s tweet was admirable, as others joined the challenge.

Over the course of a few days, the rain and snow fell, presenting some areas of Saskatchewan with 2 1/2 inches of moisture. In some circles, the downpour was dubbed a “billion-dollar rain.”

“Right now, we fixed the germination issue,” Stone said. “We got the half-inch out of the snow in liquid moisture and another 30 to 35 millimetres out of this nice system that was slow and gentle, the rain that you really want to see.

“We want to be positive and happy for the things we have received.”

As a result, Stone followed through on his pledge. His donation went to charities close to his heart.

“I gave my thousand dollars to the Saskatchewan 4-H Council and the Sask. 4-H Foundation,” Stone said. “It’s something I was involved with as a kid.

“I developed a lot of skills and public speaking (in 4-H) so it was pretty important to me and I thought that is a good spot for me to put mine.”

Stone received other pledges from people through Twitter, vowing to take part in the movement.

“I am getting direct messages from people saying, ‘Thanks, we are in!’ and, ‘This is where we have sent our donation,’ ” said Stone. “So I feel it has really driven some momentum and charity and it has been a good big thing.”

Even Premier Scott Moe, an ag boy himself, announced his donation of $1,000 to STARS Air Ambulance.

Other charities said to be receiving donations are TeleMiracle, the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, local daycares and foundations to support victims of tragedies.

“I give credit to the people who took hold of the idea because without it, it’s kind of just a dumb idea that goes nowhere,” Stone said.

“We are looking for positivity and a true good story, and people want to participate in that.”