TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Supports Local Charities through Fall Cause Campaigns

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, a national, full-service moving franchise with more than 430 locations, is dedicated to generosity. In 2022,  franchises donated more than $3 million worth of moving services to people and organizations in need, and the brand continually goes above and beyond to provide charitable giving to other causes.

“So many businesses have core values, but they’re just a poster on the wall,” explained Travis Blaney, Business Development Manager for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Central Illinois and Lafayette Indiana. “We're making decisions based on our core values every day and acting on them.”

To this end, franchises have been running fall cause campaigns, where each franchise location can select one of the following to run: Movers for Meals®, Movers for Mutts®, Movers for Military® and Truckload of Warmth®. 

Last year, more than 43,000 items were donated during the 2022 fall cause campaign season. To break it down Movers for Mutts collected 16,647 items, Movers for Meals 12,794 items, Movers for Military 11,770 items and Truckload of Warmth 1,860 items.

Movers for Meals

Movers for Meals, is one of the campaigns a franchise can choose to run which focuses on supporting those who face hunger.  Franchises partner with schools and businesses to gather and deliver non-perishable food items to local shelters and food pantries. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK helps out by delivering much needed items to food banks year-round, but during the fall cause campaign, franchise locations can choose to put additional emphasis on this charitable cause.

“Right now, in Illinois, one in 11 people face hunger, and when it comes to children, it’s one in nine,” explained Blaney. “This is an issue that seems like it could be solved pretty easily.”

But how can a moving company help contribute to a solution? They can collect and donate items that would otherwise be wasted while on the job.

“One of the things that people do when they move is throw things away. They're making decisions about what to take and what not to take, and we see a lot of food getting thrown away. So, we decided to capture the food that's still usable, and donate it,” said Blaney. “We let customers know that we will have a separate box for them on the day of the move that they can put unwanted food in.”

The moving franchise donates an average of 100 pounds of food each month. In the U.S., if each family that moved in a given year donated one pound of food, there would be about 28 million pounds of food captured and repurposed. 

Blaney takes pride in running Movers for Meals because food insecurity is an issue that he feels very passionate about.

“The thing with food insecurity and hunger is that I have a hard time understanding why or how that can happen, so we do what we can to help,” said Blaney.

Movers for Mutts

Another campaign option for franchisees to run is Movers for Mutts, a program  that helps local animal shelters. The brand partners with local businesses, schools, and organizations to collect food, toys, and other essential items for pets as they wait for their forever homes.

Morgan Nelson, director of marketing and recruiting for the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Empire Franchise Group, has a big heart for animals, making Movers for Mutts her favorite cause the brand supports. 

“We partner with a local animal shelter, and we then partner with local businesses in our communities such as veterinarian offices or doggy daycares to provide them with donations of essential items for the animals,” Nelson explained. “We also have banks and coffee shops that will host a donation box during the campaign to collect donations that the shelter needs during that time. Then we deliver those donations at the end of the campaign.”

This is a popular cause for franchisees, as many feel passionate about animal welfare.

“As a dog lover, the humane society is near and dear to my heart,” said  Joanne Sebby, a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchisee for DuPage/Will/Kendall, Illinois. “I love the fact that we can help a local organization that does so much for our community. The Hinsdale Humane Society is top notch, and we are excited to partner with them again!”

Year Round Giving

Fall is not the only time TWO MEN AND A TRUCK puts a big focus on giving back; all of the brand’s franchises participate in its annual Movers for Moms® campaign in the spring by collecting essential items and delivering them to women’s and family shelters around mother’s day.  

The brand also works with Convoy of Hope year-round. For the past five years, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has donated 10 cents from every move to Convoy of Hope, whose goal is to feed people in need, in addition to transporting supplies to disaster relief sites nationwide. In 2022 TWO MEN AND A TRUCK donated over $47,000 to Convoy of Hope, and since 2018 the brand has given over $200,000. 

Also, since 2013, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchises across the country have partnered with Cheeriodicals to deliver gift boxes to local healthcare facilities. Recipients are often children’s hospitals, veteran hospitals, Ronald McDonald house residents or assisted living residents.

Cathleen Jones, a multi-unit marketing director, was one of the first from the brand to partner with Cheeriodicals almost eight years ago. 

She explained to the green boxes of cheer contain items such as magazines, toys, and stuffed animals, and that beyond the rewarding nature of the charitable act, “it's also a great way to get our brand in front of big companies like Wells Fargo or Bayer because these companies often turn it into a team building event to put the boxes together. It really provides a great opportunity for networking,” she said. 

Fall Cause Campaign

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is making a big impact on the lives of many, and this will continue to be their goal moving forward. The brand strives to live out its core values and include all members of the team in doing so.

“It’s great that our movers and drivers get to be a part of our campaigns, too, because they really are our front line,” said Nelson. “They're the guys that keep the business going. For them to be able to be a part of big community events and causes like this is really important. We want everyone to feel included and to enjoy the rewarding nature of giving back.”

To be able to pull off this level of charitable giving truly requires a dedicated team.

“We couldn’t make it happen without the whole team jumping in the way they do. We get such great involvement from our owners and commitment from all our employees,” explained Blaney. 

To learn more about franchising opportunities with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, visit www.franchise.twomenandatruck.com.