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In honor of Homeownership Month in June, Americans were invited to help ease the strain on millions of households by recycling aluminum cans through the Cans for Habitat program.

Since its inception in 1997, nearly 570 Habitat for Humanity International affiliates and 2,000 recycling centers have joined the Cans for Habitat program, a partnership between Habitat and the Aluminum Association, Washington. As a result, more than 7.5 million pounds of aluminum cans have been recycled by and for Habitat affiliates, generating $2.6 million, which has been used to build more than 56 Habitat houses.

"Cans for Habitat is a critical fundraising and awareness-building tool for Habitat for Humanity in countless communities across the country," Millard Fuller, founder and president of Habitat for Humanity International, Americus, Ga., says.

Despite the success of Cans for Habitat, room for growth remains. In 2002, 50 billion cans were not recycled. This number could have built 11,111 Habitat homes, assuming the rate of one penny per can and that $45,000 is the average cost of building a Habitat home in the U.S.

In 2003, the Cans for Habitat program awarded $167,500 in grants to 17 Habitat affiliates throughout the U.S. as part of its annual competition. Grants were given to affiliates that successfully demonstrated their commitment to the program through innovative partnerships and efforts in recycling and publicity. More than $1.5 million in grant money has been awarded since the first grant competition in 1998.

More program information is available online at www.cansforhabitat.org.

How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business, a book by Fort Worth author Ron Sturgeon and Seattle-area author D.L. Fritz, both auto recyclers, has sold foreign reproduction rights to a Chinese publisher and is available in Chinese.

The English version of the book, which is in its second printing, is designed to help small business owners create significant financial success from their small businesses.

Based on both men’s experiences in the auto salvage industry, the book offers ideas on how to grow a business. It features the duo’s fundamentals that create financial success, includes 160 tips and an "Action Item" section.

The book’s topics range from gathering operating metrics and bench-marking against internal operations and competitors to using networking and personal electronic organizers for improving productivity. It also includes a full chapter on working with bankers.

Copies of How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business can be purchased from Mike French Publishing at (800) 238-3934 or from Amazon.com.

Industrial Services of America Inc. (ISA), Louisville, Ky., has announced its participation in Gallopalooza, the city’s sidewalk "derby."

Similar to Chicago’s Cows on Parade and Cincinnati’s Big Pig Gig, Gallopalooza features more than 200 life-size horses designed and painted by renowned local and national artists.

ISA has chosen to sponsor the 1957 Kentucky Derby winner Iron Liege, which was ridden by jockey Bill Hartack. ISA commissioned local stainless steel artist Neisja Wempe, who draped the horse in a carefully crafted stainless steel replica of the garland of roses worn by Derby winners. Wempe’s uncle James Wempe painted the horse.

Gallopalooza benefits Brightside, the public/private partnership devoted to making Metro Louisville a cleaner and more environmentally aware community.

"As a good corporate citizen and as a recycling company who actively works towards a cleaner environment, Industrial Services of America is proud to support Brightside through the Gallopalooza event," Harry Kletter, chairman and CEO of ISA, says.

Following the various Gallopalooza events featuring the horses, Iron Liege will be displayed at the ISA facility in Louisville.