Home Builders Foundation is lucky to have loyal trade contractors who will answer our call whenever we need help. Construction clean up and recycling company Clean it Up Mark! is one of them. Owner Kelly Cowan explains “I came to work for Mark McGregor to learn the business and eventually purchased it from him.” The company was already a supporter of HBF, so Kelly says he took the baton. “the Foundation is always working on a great cause and we are happy to help where we can.”

HBF Project Manager Chris McDowell can list several projects that benefited from Kelly’s generosity. On the Martin Luther King Junior holiday, Chris scheduled a yard work day at Community of Hope’s Hope House in St Johns. Pacific Crest Custom Cabinets helped tear up concrete, and fill in an abandoned chute that had led to water leaking into the building. In addition, carpet and damaged furniture was removed from the inside. Clean it up Mark! filled four trucks full of debris and hauled them away.

Chris praises Kelly’s help, which allows HBF to spend our fundraising dollars elsewhere. “Clean It Up Mark! has helped us on numerous projects where we would have relied on a conventional dumpster or hauling service that would have cost us time and money. Kelly Cowan has been generous to donating trucks to projects where we are cleaning out shelter spaces of debris – whether construction materials, broken furniture or trash. We have been able to use Clean It Up Mark! particularly when we have had volunteer work parties where we have a time crunch to get trash out the door.”

Another example is HBF’s ongoing remodel for Project Homeless Connect in Hillsboro. The nonprofit purchased a house next door to its day shelter last fall so it can expand its services. After being inhabited by a renter for more than a decade, Chris coordinated a winter clean out of the old bungalow to get it ready for painting. The pile of debris left on the sidewalk was out of sight quickly thanks to the Clean it Up Mark! crew.

HBF events like the Trap Shoot depend on Clean it Up Mark! as well. For at least three years, the company has sent a truck that helps us take away trash. Fund Development Manager Kyle Ellerbe praises Kelly’s dedication, as it helps us devote more of our fundraising to project support. “He is fantastic event support, he saves us money and headaches. Kelly is always willing to step up for our events.”

Along with running his business, Kelly makes time for fun. He tells us he has a group of friends who he joins for adventure races. This year, the Spartan Trifecta is on tap. He also enjoys a weekend golf group. There is the old saying if you want something done, ask a busy person. At HBF, we’ve found Kelly is that kind of a guy.

Would you like to volunteer for an HBF project? or, perhaps lead a donation drive at your business? Contact Project Manager Chris McDowell if you are interested. Chrism@hbapdx.org

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