Online Athens

Junk South will take a formalized approach to supporting area nonprofits over the next year when it kicks off a new donation matching program next month.

The full-service junk removal company headquartered in Athens will partner with a different nonprofit each month through November 2014 and offer clients a chance to make a donation to that charity. Junk South will match each donation that is made up to $20 in addition to a $100 donation from the company.

“In the past we have done seasonal drives if we noticed an agency was having an event or holding a drive and we would try to build awareness for the agency while we were out gathering items from our clients, but it was sporadic,” said Chris Caswall, founder of Junk South. “This year, we thought it would make more of an impact on the organizations we are trying to help and make more sense to our clients if we could tell them the name of a nonprofit we are partnering with for the month, give them some information about it and offer them an opportunity to contribute to that cause.”

The donation-matching program will join Junk South’s other fundraisers Trash to Treasure, 5 Days of Bell Ringing and its Complimentary Christmas Tree Removal for elderly and disabled residents and veterans in Athens.

Junk South also currently partners with 13 local agencies such as Goodwill, ReStore, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful and Project Safe’s thrift store by donating items collected from clients that can be recycled or refurbished. The agencies then repair the items and sells them to generate funds to support their programs or use the items to help the agency provide services to the community.

“The whole purpose of the program is to build awareness for area nonprofits through Junk South’s day-to-day operations and hopefully generate some funds for them,” Caswall said. “Junk South is not here to make money. The parent company, Athena Enterprises and Classic City Installation & Extraction, does that. Junk South just has a goal is to give back as much as we bring in.”

The Athens Area Homeless Shelter will be the nonprofit of the month for November.

Any local charity or nonprofit interested in being selected as the nonprofit of the month over the next year can send a letter of interest to Junk South by emailing it to
info@junksouth.com or mail it to P.O. Box 964, Athens, GA 30603.

• Follow faith, health and Blueprint reporter April Burkhart at www.facebook.com/AprilBurkhartABH.