[Archived from January 09, 2009]
[by Phyllis Shaikun]
Perhaps you, like I, have seen some large white trucks around town with the words TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, “Movers Who Care”® written on the side in large black letters along with a logo that shows two happy people sitting in the front seat of a stylized white van. What you might not know, however, is that this company and its international franchisees really do stand behind their mission to be role models in the moving industry and to give back to their communities. The relationship between the franchise’s local owners and Shalom Tower is a prime example.
Shalom Tower’s Aging Services Coordinator, Delores Glazer, first heard about Two Men and a Truck when they handled two moves for her mother in St. Louis. Then Glazer’s son moved from North Carolina to St. Louis and the big white trucks helped him make the move as well. So last year, when she needed to locate a company that would pick-up, deliver, and distribute government food commodities (cereal, powdered milk, cheese and other basic foodstuffs) to the 80 residents in the building who qualify for these government subsidies, Glazer called Two Men and a Truck.
“I knew they had a reputation for being both good and reasonable,” she said. “There’s so little money in the program that transportation cost is a primary consideration.”
She spoke with Jimmy Taylor, Sr., who together with his wife, Deborah Taylor, and brother-in-law, Mike Ellis, owns the Louisville Central franchise on Chamberlain Lane. Taylor volunteered to do the job for free and has been doing it ever since.
“I schedule a year out,” says Taylor. “The guys like to do it and it gives us all a happy feeling. We do everything from going downtown to pick up the foodstuffs to delivery and clean-up afterwards.” His franchise also volunteers its time with the Lord’s Kitchen and the American Heart Association, and recently helped move the first 16 of 56 families into the new Louisville Scholar House campus that provides a stable and supportive educational environment for single-parent families.
Ellis, who moved to Louisville from Mississippi to help run the business in 2005, remembers their first job was to take their brand new truck down to New Orleans to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. “We strive to do as much as we can and as much as our budget allows,” he said. He notes that owners shoulder the responsibility for the charity work they do and absorb the financial costs themselves – employees are paid for their time in the efforts.
Glazer says, “We are so grateful to them; we simply couldn’t do our commodities program without them. Many people in the building have no transportation, so their service is particularly important.
“The Two Men and a Truck drivers fight the rain and snow and never miss a day,” she continued. “In fact, our dates are planned in advance and they will not accept another job if it interferes with their time at Shalom Tower.”
The company is putting the spirit of tikkun olam into practice and the Jewish community is appreciative of their caring and support. For further information about Two Men and a Truck, contact Jimmy Taylor or Mike Ellis at 425-8778.