Company Profits Helping Community

Some have said that Robert Vaughn gives part of his business’ profits away as a marketing ploy. Vaughn said it’s just his way of giving back to the community.

Vaughn gives 10 percent of the gross profits his Cartersville-based business, Alpha & Omega Landscaping, brings in each month either to charities or to people in need.

“No matter what it is, that’s what we do,” Vaughn said.

The idea came to Vaughn after his wife told him there were children at White Elementary School who didn’t have much food at home.

“When you hear about children who don’t have food, that sends a chill up your spine,” Vaughn said. “It did me. You don’t want to hear about children not eating.”

That’s when Vaughn said he and his business partner decided to help out in the community.

“I’ve been there,” he said. “We’ve both struggled to feed our families. We know how hard it is to get help.”

Vaughn’s company began giving back to the community in the middle of the year, and in that time has donated to The Least of These Foundation and the Empty Bowls Project. It also has given money to elderly residents and others who need help paying for living expenses, paid for extracurricular activities for students whose parents can’t afford the fees and has purchased food for those who don’t have much.

“We’ll write a check so they can get what they need,” Vaughn said.

The value of work done and money donated totals approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in the last four to five months.

Vaughn said he’s been called an "idiot" by others in the landscape world and has been told he’s throwing his money out the window. He said it’s all about being a true company of the community.

“When a company comes along and does what we do, I guess I can see how people would see it as a marketing strategy,” Vaughn said. “Bottom line has sometimes gone into the negative to make sure we give back to community.”

And, some have said it’s just a way for Vaughn to market his company.

“Why would I want to push free work as a marketing strategy?” Vaughn said. “I’m going to give money away, even if I don’t have it. In what way is that marketing? It’s aggravating, but it is what it is.

"Some people are going to be jealous about it because they didn’t think about it or because it could be a marketing idea for them. We have caught a lot of flack because of it, a whole lot of it. You reap what you so. I believe this company will be a well-known company, and it’s already becoming known in Bartow County, not for our work but for what we want to do for the community."

In 2012, Vaughn said he hopes to work with local schools to give scholarships to students, and he also wants to work with officials to do some work for the city, such as redoing some of the city’s parks.

“I live in Cartersville, and people in Cartersville are great,” Vaughn said. “Let’s try to make this a better place. [Let’s] try to clean up community and make it look great.”