Couple makes charity part of business

There’s a folder on Carol Adkins’ desk that is filled to overflowing. But the contents aren’t related to OnTime Service, which Carol and husband, Kerry Adkins, own. The folder is filled with requests for help from charities in Birmingham and around the world.

The Adkins were nearly 25-year residents of Liberty Park. Though they relocated to Indian Springs in late 2015, Carol Adkins said they remain heavily involved in their former city through Liberty Park events and community involvement, especially with Vestavia Hills-based nonprofit Kulture City.

“I still feel like I’m a Vestavia resident,” Carol Adkins said.

OnTime Service provides electrical, heating and cooling services around Birmingham. However, the Adkins agreed that they wanted their business to be the path for good things in the community.

“We both made an agreement a long time ago that God has blessed us so we can be a blessing to others,” Carol Adkins said. “When you start giving, people will come, and they will call. They come from everywhere.”

They started with service projects and serving on boards through Church of the Highlands. With Kerry Adkins’ background as a master electrician, it was easy for them to get involved in hands-on projects. This led to bringing OnTime employees with them on charity projects and around 2013, Kerry Adkins said they decided to make community service a part of their business model.

Since then, every service call OnTime receives includes a fee that goes into their charity fund. Kerry Adkins said his wife is mainly responsible for connecting with charities and adding more requests to the folder on her desk. Though the Adkins require that each nonprofit they help has a Christian ministry element, they said they don’t make the decisions on who to help by themselves.

Nonprofits are asked to come to OnTime’s headquarters in Hoover and make a presentation to OnTime employees about their needs. The whole company decides whether or not to support each project, though Kerry Adkins said it’s rare for them to say no.

“We’ve been blessed; our business is doing well. We’ve got a great group of people here that a lot of them have a heart for this kind of stuff,” Kerry Adkins said. “And I think people like being a part of something bigger.”

Help from OnTime Service comes in a variety of forms, including cash donations or hands-on work. Kerry Adkins said employees have installed a chair lift in a family’s home, fixed electrical work and constructed a kiln for a pottery program at King’s Home, among other projects.

“We’re always looking for something when there’s an immediate need,” Carol Adkins said.

The recipients also vary. Kerry Adkins said they have a list of “favorite” groups they regularly help, including Kulture City, King’s Home, Big Oak Ranch, Children’s Harbor, Carly’s Clubhouse and Children’s Village. Children’s nonprofits are particular favorites among OnTime employees. 

However, they actively seek new organizations to serve.

“Our intention was never to really have one thing,” Carol Adkins said. “We wanted to show people that right here in our area we have a mission field. There’s a lot of hurting, needing people around us.”

“We didn’t want it to be the same thing all the time,” Kerry Adkins said.

In addition to local nonprofits, OnTime has provided help for employee mission trips and individual families in need. Kerry Adkins also visits Woodlawn High School about once a week to teach students about the basics of electrical work, in hopes that some might consider it as a career. 

He said one of the students he taught later came to work at OnTime for a while and trained to be an electrician.

The Adkins also host a monthly luncheon for fellow business owners to talk about incorporating their faith and charity work into their business model. Carol Adkins said she believes a lot more good can be done in the community if businesses, nonprofits and individuals work together.

Kerry Adkins said in 2015, OnTime Service put about $30,000 into the community through donations, not including work on service projects, and they’re hoping to donate about $50,000 this year. Their “big, hairy, audacious goal” is to someday reach $300,000 in annual charity funds. However, he said the involvement of his employees plays a bigger role than the money itself.

“It may not be a dollar thing; it may be a ‘how involved are our people?’ kind of thing,” Kerry Adkins said.

OnTime’s charity commitment, the Adkins said, makes it a good place to work for employees with similar priorities.

“This can really be bigger than just a job,” Kerry Adkins said. “We can be part of something really big, really noble, really important if we make it that way.”

Not only is their generosity a part of their faith, the Adkins also simply enjoy it.

“Giving away stuff is fun,” Kerry Adkins said.