Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DOWAGIAC ­— One Dowagiac company is doing its part to give back to a nonprofit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, Steinbauer Performance USA, 22790 Fosdick St., Dowagiac, started collecting cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles and will donate all proceeds to Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services, which works to end domestic violence and sexual assault in southwest Michigan.

Sheri Jones, the public relations manager at Steinbauer Performance USA, said the Cass County Sheriff Rick Behnke reached out to the company asking if they knew of a place collecting recyclables.

Jones, along with her family, set up a drop off location at Steinbauer Performance USA after seeing a need.

“We have 30 acres out of town, so we set up our own station here for our neighbors to use and the staff to use, and then the sheriff said, ‘hey would you mind if we bring out stuff too,’” Jones said.

Jones also helps with DASAS, which serves Cass, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties.

“It’s very difficult for us to raise funds at the moment with COVID-19,” Jones said. “Our main fundraiser, [Survivor Stomp 5K Run and 1.4-mile Walk] which is the run that we do in April had to be virtual. So, I thought it made sense for us.”

The recycling drop off will be open to the general public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of May. Steinbauer Performance USA is allowing first responders and essential workers to drop off their recycling at any time.

Jones said the company plans to have 24/7 surveillance on the site to make sure people respect the drop off situation.

“We have a good relationship with both the Dowagiac Police Department and our local sheriff’s office, so we are quite fortunate that way,” Jones said. “All of our cameras are registered with Cass County and Dowagiac because we are one of the only people here that have full 24 hours surveillance that way we can access our cameras at any time.”

Jones said if the recycling efforts go well, she would like to leave a permanent basis for ongoing convenience and to help raise money for DASAS on an ongoing basis for the shelter.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Jones said. “It’s not always easy to offer a space for strangers to come and go. So, we just have to monitor that and make sure people don’t abuse the privilege as being able to bring their bottles and cans here.”

Jones said Steinbauer Performance USA, which services the agriculture industry and is a member of the American equipment manufacturers association, has itself been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were very early in buying into the social distancing,” Jones said in the company’s transition during COVID-19. “I restructured the office and restructured business hours before the state had the stay-at-home order. We actually did all of that at the start of March.”

Jones said Steinbauer Performance USA is fortunate to have the space to accommodate for social distancing.

“We only have one person in a building at a time,” Jones said. “The staff are very good. Everyone is doing the disinfectant routine. The farmers have to keep working, so they need us, and so we are here.”