Maricopa Pantry’s founders Jim and Alice Schoaf are making a big change. They’re giving up smoking after 56 years.

And they’re inviting the community to quit, too.

Inspired by Jim Schoaf’s doctor’s advice to stop smoking before his upcoming knee surgery, pantry volunteer Lisa Cruz decided to turn the couple’s effort into a fundraising initiative.

The initiative runs through September and the pantry’s annual Thanksgiving potluck. The idea is that people can quit smoking alongside the Schoafs and donate the money that they would normally spend on cigarettes to help those in need.

“The community is right beside you, cheering you on,” Cruz said. “We can do this together, and it supports an amazing cause.”

Schoaf was a three-pack-a-day smoker when he told his wife the doctor told him to quit.

“If you’re going to quit, we’re going to quit,” Alice told him.

Schoaf told Alice that she didn’t have to quit with him, but after 48 years of marriage, they tend to do what the other one does.

“That’s the way we’ve always had our marriage. If someone is doing something, the other one goes in and believes in it,” Schoaf said.

The couple has been dealing with withdrawal headaches for the first few days, but Schoaf said the transition has otherwise been easy. He’s learned a few tricks to ward off withdrawal symptoms, including sucking on cough drops and mimicking a cigarette with a pen.

For Schoaf, quitting in about more than preparing for surgery.

“The doctor tells me if you quit smoking, it’ll add ten years to your life,” he said. “I want to keep doing what I do, I enjoy helping people.”

Schoaf dealt with cancer years ago, and he remembered how people inspired by his experience came out to volunteer at the pantry. It gave people a sense of community surrounding their cancer diagnoses.

He didn’t plan on his decision to quit smoking to become a fundraising movement, but he feels like it could be a good thing.

“If it could help people stop smoking, I’m for it,” Schoaf said. “Seems to bring the community together.”