Richland business finds purpose in giving

A Richland business owner has found that giving back to the community isn't just a civic duty-- it gives him purpose. Now he's sharing that sense of purpose with his employees.

Keith Moon learned a few years ago that there's more to being a business man than just selling tacos at Tumbleweeds on Stevens Dr. in Richland.

That key learning came in 2014, when an employee's son was diagnosed with Leukemia. Moon ran a week-long fund raiser to help the family, donating 100% of the proceeds from the boy's favorite menu item-- a fried bean burrito-- to help with his medical expenses.

"The town went crazy," Moon said. "We were all working from sun up to sun down, making burritos. Over the course of the week we raised $20,000 on $2 burritos, plus a container collecting donations."

The experience taught him that while people like a taco, they like it a lot more if they know it's helping someone else.

Starting March 6th, Moon is letting each of his employees create a menu item that will be their own special, sold for a week, with the proceeds going toward a cause of their choosing, even if it's not a registered non-profit. He says he's learning a lot about his employees through the process.

"One of our employees is a vegetarian- her product will have no meat in it," Moon said from his 'office' in the dining room at the restaurant. "Her cause is the Benton-Franklin Humane Society. So, it goes hand-in-hand. Her product is in-line with her cause, and her cause is in-line with her beliefs."

You can learn more about the employees, their culinary creations, and the causes they're supporting at TumbleweedsCares.