Driving Change
Why a waste management company is investing in the future of pediatric health care
Before Curtis Lawrence was an entrepreneur, he was a college student answering a call for help from his mother.
The mortgage was overdue, and his family needed support. Curtis, then a college freshman, took out a private student loan – not for textbooks or tuition, but to help save the family home.
“I realized I needed to find a way to build financial stability, not just for me, but for my family,” he said.
That drive to take care of others has continued to motivate Curtis – who used the money remaining from the load to launch Skyward Transportation, a fast-growing trucking and logistics company in North Texas.
And now, he’s also the co-founder of Jaguar Waste Management, which was hired to collect construction trash on the new Dallas pediatric campus site. Curtis is in his mid-30's and doesn’t have kids of his own, but he’s continuing a value he’s always held – giving back.
And this time, his generosity is a gift to support the future of pediatric health care.
Building something bigger
Curtis’ career launched with a single truck in 2008. Inspired by a family friend in trucking, he began his business while still in college, juggling a double major in biology and chemistry and playing college basketball.
“I was extremely disciplined and structured,” he said. “I didn’t have time to waste. I was more focused on what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it.”
By 2011, he founded Skyward Transportation. More than a decade later, he grew Skyward to a fleet of over 100 trucks and employed more than 80 drivers. And as the company grew, he looked to build up others alongside him.
One way he did that was by funding truck driving school tuition for young men from under-resourced communities to help train them and give them jobs at Skyward.
“The job never ends. Financially, it’s tough. Machinery is expensive. You have to have a real growth strategy,” he said. “We got creative and were able to give back to the community by employing the people in it.”
That mindset is what led Curtis and Jaguar to partner with Children’s Health, not only to provide waste services during construction of the new Dallas pediatric campus but to make a philanthropic gift in support of the project that will be one of the largest and most transformative pediatric hospitals in the country.
Once you reach a certain level of success, it’s about the legacy you leave. Being able to help someone, it warms my heart and brings me a lot of joy. That’s why I do it.
— Curtis, Children's Health donor
Curtis didn't grow up in Texas, but he understood the vision to meet the needs of a growing pediatric population. He sees the new Dallas pediatric campus not just as a hospital, but as an investment in the future of North Texas.
“The youth is our future generation that we will depend on one day,” he said. “They are important to us, to the city of Dallas and our community.”
Kids count on us. We count on you.
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