Dennis Jenkins carries on the family tradition of sharing time and materials.
Philanthropy is part of Dennis Jenkins’ business DNA. At age 12, Jenkins started working in the pest management business of his father, PMP Hall of Famer Robert Jenkins Sr., and saw the elder Jenkins donate services.
“Back when I was a kid, my dad was donating services to his church,” Jenkins recalls, noting he later learned his father donated services in other places as well. It’s a tradition Jenkins has kept now that he runs Dallas-based ABC Home & Commercial Services.
About 50 of ABC’s employees joined Anteater Advocates, a group of volunteers within the organization. The group meets monthly and participates in a number of activities around the city — such as serving as drivers for Mission Arlington, which picks up and drops off donated items. Anteater Advocates also works with Christian Community Action, Hearts for Homes, Habitat for Humanity, Grace Presbyterian Village, Samaritan Inn, and a number of child advocacy centers.
Jenkins and his employees also participate in annual events like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night and Be the Match. The volunteers always wear their Anteater Advocates shirts.
“We’ve kept growing the number of places to which we give back,” Jenkins says.
Jenkins doesn’t donate services for the recognition, but he does recognize the value doing so can bring within the community. Like his father, Jenkins donates pest management services to his church and allows his employees to donate those services to their religious institutions if they choose.
“We donated about $140,000 of pest control last year,” Jenkins says. “It’s not mine; it’s God’s. I’m not the owner; I’m the steward. That’s where that desire comes from.” pmp
You can reach Jacobs, a Cleveland-based freelance writer/editor, at jacobs3927@gmail.com
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