Gainesville business plans to plow for charity

A local business is ready to help some charities and nonprofits. All they need is a little snow.

Parrish Services, a heating, air conditioning, electrical and plumbing business with loca­tions in Manassas and elsewhere in Northern Virginia, started a program this year called Snow 4 Charity.

When it snows, the company plans to dispatch its employees to the Heritage Hunt senior liv­ing complex in Gainesville, of­fering to plow sidewalks and driveways in exchange for a do­nation to one of several local and national charities.

“Parrish has been involved in a number of different charities for years, and we get a lot out of it surprisingly,” Parrish Services CEO Alan Givens said. “The old adage of the more you give the more you get in return is really true.”

Givens said the company has had snowplows and other snow removal equipment for years, so they are able to reach custom­ers with emergencies after heavy snowfall.

But they have more snow re­moval equipment than they usu­ally use, so they decided to put it to good use.

“We decided this would be a good way to do fundraising for a lot of local charities,” Givens said.

They decided to offer the ser­vice exclusively to Heritage Hunt residents in part because the community is for adults age 55 and older and, therefore, has many residents who likely will need the help, Givens said.

“What we heard from our cus­tomers out there is that snow re­moval from their driveways and sidewalks is a real concern,” he said.

Heritage Hunt residents can sign up in advance at www.snow4charity.com to have their drive­ways and sidewalks plowed in exchange for a suggested $50 donation to Project Mend-A-House, St. Jude Children’s Re­search Hospital, CASA, SERVE, The House Inc., Fauquier Family Shelter, Lion’s Camp or Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

“All of the charities are ones that are near and dear to our hearts,” Givens said.

Givens said the company hopes to raise a lot of money for the local and national charities, they just need one thing: snow.

“We’re excited about this. I just keep hoping we get some snow to try it out,” Givens said.

For more information, visit www.snow4charity.org 

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-530-3908.