Reuben Nazareno, a rambunctious three-year-old from Rancho Cordova, CA, looks like any other energetic boy his age. To watch him play with his little brother, you probably would not guess that he has been through a long treatment regimen for leukemia, a disease that he was diagnosed with two years ago. Fortunately, Reuben’s leukemia is now in remission.
Last year, due to the kindness and generosity of the Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Northern California and Northern Nevada and Clark Pest Control, Reuben had his biggest wish granted! Clark Pest Control’s Lodi-based corporate headquarters orchestrated a donation drive among employees in its 22 branches and main office over November and December 2012. The $5,000 Clark raised sent Reuben and his family to Disney World in Orlando, Florida in late March. According to Reuben’s mom Christina, they had a wonderful time.
To follow up on his trip, Reuben, along with his mom and little brother, met with some of his new friends from Clark Pest Control at The Wishing Place, Make-A-Wish®'’s local office in Sacramento. Excited employees from the company’s Rancho Cordova and Lodi offices came, including Vice President Terry Clark and Marketing Department Coordinator Kristen Hennings, who did a large part of the footwork inside the company to make Reuben’s wish a reality.
Fred Speer, Clark Pest Control’s Online Community Manager and Bug Zookeeper, brought along the Bug Zoo family of tarantula spiders, scorpions, Madagascar hissing cockroaches and other arthropods.Reuben had a great time checking the critters out up close.
For the Clark Pest Control employees, watching Reuben enjoy the new toys they had brought for him and seeing him marvel at the Clark Bug Zoo creatures was deeply gratifying.Giving back to the communities we serve is a value that the people at Clark Pest Control share as a matter of principle, and participating in something like Make-A-Wish®, which brings real happiness to children who need just that, is the sort of activity that gives meaning to what we believe.
