Some people want to look good for the beach. Others want to be able to enjoy their favorite sport again. Hank, who started his journey at 335 pounds, is motivating his weight loss goal by donating $5 for every pound he loses to a local non-profit that fights childhood obesity.

So far, Hank has lost 68 pounds and he’s shooting to lose at least 60 more. That’s $340 donated to help kids, with another $300 coming down the pike. The CEO of the organization he’s donating to, LOUiE’s kids, says he is humbled by Hank’s commitment. In a letter to Hank, he wrote:

Louie’s Kids is in memory of my father, “Big Louie.” Dad weighed 550 lbs when he died, too young at 65. I watched for years as he struggled but managed to get to work everyday for 46 years. As he endured years of taunts, jeers and just mean people he taught us, his three kids, that in spite of what you might be called, or how you might be treated it’s important to endure. I’m glad I have these lessons because it’s endurance I assure you that’s kept us in this game for 10 years.

It’s not easy, the kids we help are the most in need, they’re the kids from Title I schools (50% of Title I school children in the US are overweight or obese). The kids we help have families and communities who unfortunately do not always support their lifestyles -but it’s about empowering them, and for 7 out of 10 it seems to work, those are bad odds when you’re talking about 25 million American children.

Thank you for your support of our organization and trust we’ll be cheering you on every step of this amazing journey. You inspire me.

It’s not just other people’s children that keep him going, it’s Hank’s own.

“I also am motivated by the fact that I do not want to die, prematurely, because of my weight,” Hank writes on his site where he’s tracking his progress. “I have an amazing wife and two beautiful children and I want them to have a daddy and a husband. “

If you’re having trouble meeting your weight loss goals, try finding an exterior, higher goal that losing weight helps you achieve. Sometimes, in order to get smaller, you need to give yourself over to something bigger.

Check out more of Hank’s story at The Business of Losing Weight, a journey to lose 100 lbs or more

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