When Steve Cobb and Doug Miller decided to go into the trash business together they wanted to do something different.
“When we started, we said, ‘how do we make it different?’” said Cobb, co-owner of Garbage Guys Who Care. “I thought, what if our trucks were pink and we tied in with Dave’s (Kracker) local fund – and it helps people locally.”
Garbage Guys Who Care was founded in 2012, Cobb said. He and Miller had the opportunity to take over a trash business from someone else. The men also operate other businesses together.
A portion of the fees from the trash business go to the Pat Kracker Breast Cancer Fund. Pat died on her 61st birthday in 1996 from breast cancer. Her husband, Dave, started a fund in her memory and to help other women.
“My first thought was to see if there wasn’t something that might be done in the way of helping get mammograms,” said Dave Kracker. “Pat always had her mammograms but hers was very deep in the chest wall so they didn’t see it.”
Back in the late 90s, digital scanners were not available as they are today, Kracker said.
“So, my thought was – if there was any way to spare people,” he said. “I realized that some people don’t even get mammograms because they just don’t have the money.”
Cobb said he and Kracker have been friends for years. The idea of keeping the money local was also a positive for Cobb.
“Not only do we donate money directly to the breast cancer fund, we advertise them on everything we do; on the trucks, on the bills we send and things like that,” he said. “It’s really a good partnership.”
Cobb described the business situation as win/win.
“It gives us the distinction and helps us to grow,” he said. “We do good things with the money and there’s more money to help people who need it. It’s really kind of a neat thing.”
The reception of the unique twist on an old business has been received well by the community, Cobb said.
“We started in Ontario with about 600 customers,” he said. “Then starting about this time last year we expanded to Mansfield and we have increased to about 2,400 customers.”
The pink trash cans bring a lot of calls and interest to the business, Cobb said.
“We actually had a couple of people call and insist that we raise their rates because of the good things we’re doing with the money,” he said.
Mansfield resident Tarkington Johnson has been a customer of the Garbage Guys Who Care for the past several months.
“(They) are doing a great thing,” he said. “I love the idea that a portion of my fees go toward a cause I support.”
The Pat Cracker Breast Cancer Fund is only for women who live in Richland County.
On the website, www.patkracker.org, it says the purpose of the fund is to educate the public, refer women to the appropriate assistance organizations and provide financial assistance with the cost of breast cancer related expenses.
Funds are collected through memorials and many other unsolicited sources, Kracker said.
“There has been over $3,000 in contributions in just this year from (Garbage Guys Who Care),” he said.
Anyone needing assistance with breast cancer related costs can call Catholic Charities at 419-524-0733. The organization does the case work for the Pat Kracker Breast Cancer Fund.
For more information visit: www.garbageguyswhocare.com and www.patkracker.org.
“I thought, what if our trucks were pink and we tied in with Dave’s (Kracker) local fund – and it helps people locally,” said Steve Cobb, co-owner of Garbage Guys Who Care.
