Last week, The Pink Cart hit a major milestone. Three local haulers, who normally compete with each other for customers, banded together to bring Pink Carts to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The haulers, Dick's Sanitation, Troje's Trash & Recycling and Walter's Recycling & Refuse, all had their own story to tell about cancer. From Breast Cancer to Melanoma, and more, each of these families had been touched by the disease and were eager to seize the opportunity to lend their support and passion to making a difference in the lives of people in their community fighting the same battles they had. Each hauler wrapped their trucks in beautiful graphics with the pictures of members of their families and friends who had won their battle with breast cancer and other cancers so that every time they drive down a street, residents will stop, look, and think about what they can do to support the fight against breast cancer.
On top of the funds that will be donated to the American Cancer Society, they have decided to take it one step further. These haulers are offering a donation matching program to benefit the Angel Foundation a local charity that provides emergency financial assistance to men, women and their families who are battling all types of cancer. The Angel Foundation just celebrated their 10 Year Anniversary, marking a milestone of over $2 Million donated to families in need in the Twin Cities. This partnership between Troje's, Walter's and Dick's Sanitation provides not 1, not 2, but 3 areas of the city access to Pink Carts and the opportunity to support two organizations doing important work in their own community.
This was made possible because of the passion of one woman who decided she was going to bring Pink Carts to the Twin Cities and she wasn’t taking no for an answer. It took several months, but last week we donned Pink Cart t-shirts, got in front of the TV cameras, and shared our stories with over 130 people who were there to support the launch of this program and standing in line to sign up for a Pink Cart. So many times Pink Carts find their way to a community because of the persistence of one person who builds support among their friends and neighbors to turn their curbs PINK.
Now it’s your turn to be that advocate who turns their passion for PINK into action for their community. Start today:
1. Find out who handles trash collection in your area by calling your city
2. Contact your solid waste department or your local haulers and tell them about your passion for PINK
3. Mobilize your friends – give them information about the program and the phone numbers of their local haulers
4. Inspire your community – help organize your neighbors to petition your hauler for PINK
5. Don’t Stop until there are Pink Carts at your curb on trash day!
If you want Pink Carts, lead the fight to get them in your community. You can find tools to help you succeed in our Advocacy Toolkit. Leave a comment and tell us what you've been doing to help turn your community PINK!