Helping those in need

EDITOR'S NOTE: Troy joined Digital Editor Jimmy Miller in a 30-minute conversation about the Hot Pink Helpers, how you can start your own charity, and yes — the color pink. You can listen to our latest podcast here.

Troy Clogg has worked in snow long enough to see it — everybody hates salt.

It could be clients who don’t want the salt, who say the salt killed their lawns but will sue companies for not applying it. It could be the employees who say salt is destroying their trucks. There are even some who say it’s bad for the environment.

“There’s just a lot of weird energy wrapped around salt,” says Clogg, who manages Troy Clogg Landscape Associates in Detroit.

© Hot Pink Helpers

Clogg found a way to turn something that frustrates into a reason to smile: He created a pink deicing product in 2010, donating a portion of proceeds to local families affected by breast cancer. Their first donation went to a family just a few days before Christmas in 2011. Cancer treatments had forced the family into just one income and the bills were piling up, so Clogg used proceeds from Hot Pink Deicer sales to help the parents and their two young sons.  

After a few more years of providing checks around the holidays, Clogg formed the Hot Pink Helpers as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization to expand their outreach. Hot Pink Helpers raises money through fundraisers, including its annual October golf outing. Hot Pink Helpers has given away grants totaling over $700,000 to local families battling cancer.

“I think the world would be a much better place if, if people built business models around serving, again, whatever the whatever's tugging at their heart,” Clogg says.

Clogg joined the industry just to make a living while he was in high school. But as the money steadily came in, Clogg also recognized an opportunity, even when those around him tried convincing him that the only way to make a career was through going to college.

“Admittedly, when I went hard as a teenager and into my early twenties, I really did think that, ‘I won't do this forever,’” Clogg says. “So that was one of the first and many times I was wrong because I've been wrong a lot of times.”

Clogg adds that his competitive side kicked in. He grew up playing ice hockey, baseball and golf, so he always liked to compete. And as he found enough money to buy his first house and hire his first employees, Clogg realized he’d be sticking around in the green industry.

“The harder I worked, the more money I made, so I wasn't afraid to work hard,” Clogg says.

But Clogg hit a rough patch personally in his early thirties – a time he calls a rebirth. He recognized that when he came out on the other side of this personal turmoil, he wanted to reemerge as someone who is ready to do some good for the world.  

© Hot Pink Helpers

That’s where the Hot Pink Helpers come in. While no one in his immediate family has had breast cancer, Clogg found a passion in helping those with cancer to find their footing. The passion for helping is the number one ingredient for anyone looking to get into charity work.

“So, step one is, ‘What are you really passionate about?’” Clogg says. “Because if you're not (passionate), it won't last, and years ago by, and you won't feel like doing it anymore. Then decide, step 2: ‘Do you really want to do it all yourself?’ Or do you want to partner up with or piggyback with somebody who's already doing whatever this is and just become a huge help to them?”

Clogg talked with Lawn & Landscape about creating the Hot Pink Helpers on our most recent podcast. If you’re interested in learning more about  Hot Pink Helpers, or if you’re interested in ways to start your own charity, you won’t want to miss out on this conversation.