Seasonal celebrations kept those less fortunate in mind at Kilgore Allied Waste Service.
Employees there raised $1,150 for Helping Hands. The largest source of the donation was a ticket drawing at the company’s annual Christmas party, where many of the company’s 98 employees ponied up the cash to brighten the season for others.
Gene Keenon is the manager of government affairs and municipal services for Allied Waste of East Texas.
He said the empoyees wanted to contribute to a worthy cause.
“There’s just so much need with so many people out of work. The employees felt they were fortunate and wanted to give this year, and they chose Helping Hands as their charity,” he said.
Keenon said the recession has af- fected the company’s business to some extent.
“People still need to have their trash picked up, so it’s almost recession proof - however, we do deal with commercial businesses, so when they close down it affects us,” he said.
“A lot of businesses are looking at their Dumpsters to see if they’re full or if they can cut back a day a week, and we’re helping them do that also,” Keenon said.
“It’s making businesses manage their waste a bit more, during tough times,” he said.
