Sheri Spencer, owner of Spencer Pest Services, is on a mission. Bigger than any bug-killing mission she’s ever done. She wants to help end cancer. And she thinks all pest management professionals can help, too.

Two years ago, she trademarked Pest Control for a Cure^™, a nonprofit that donates money to various nonprofit cancer charities nationally.

“My dad (former owner, Bill Spencer) was diagnosed with cancer in 2006,” says Spencer. He died from it in 2012. “It was a very rare form of cancer, so we had to go to a hospital in Houston for treatment. When we went to Houston, what amazed me was the teenagers – the children – with cancer. There’s no discrimination. And I later found out that half of our employees and their families have been effected by cancer. What the patient has to go through is horrible, but the rest of the family is totally impacted as well. So, Pest Control for a Cure started out as a small project and it has turned into a brand.”

Spencer Pest Services outfits their trucks and their employees in pink in honor of cancer research. They don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. For every new customer, Spencer Pest Services donates $50 to the cancer charity of the customer’s choice.

“When we get a new customer, we donated $50 to the cancer nonprofit of their choice,” she says. “When the sales team goes out on a sales call, part of their sales conversation is to ask where the customer would like their donation to go. We actually get customers calling us because of what we do for cancer charities.”

Aside from helping to fund cancer research, Spencer sees this effort as reaping many more benefits for her company, her community and her industry.

“We’re not always looked at as a clean, professional industry, and this shows that we’re giving back, that we’re part of our local community. It’s increased our image,” she says. “And this makes it really easy to bring our employees together as a team. This is our cause, so we walk and fundraise together. We tell people when we hire them that this is what we do as part of our core values and we expect you to help.”

Since this has been effective for her business, and because she feels strongly about this cause, Spencer encourages other pest management professionals around the country to follow suit.

“My personal vision is to let other companies use Pest Control for a Cure as long as they’re doing it the same way we are,” she explains. “They can use our marketing materials and work with our graphics person. I would love for companies all over the U.S. to participate so we could do even more as an industry.”

If you’re interested in more information about Pest Control for a Cure, contact Sheri Spencer at Sheri.Spencer@SpencerPest.com.