Significant growth is in store for Lewisville-nonprofit Cleaning For A Reason. The organization, which offers free house cleaning to women battling cancer, has just been adopted by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association.
“We are so honored to be joining ISSA,” said Cleaning For A Reason President and Founder Debbie Sardone of Flower Mound. “We will be able to take our outreach from the U.S. and Canada to other places worldwide. This means more women will benefit from our mission, and we can’t thank ISSA enough for making that happen.”
Cleaning For A Reason is sending the message that “help is on the way” for more women, as the nonprofit focuses on women’s homes, so they can focus on their health. With this advancement in the industry will come more resources and abilities, and in turn, more influence for Cleaning For A Reason as a whole.
“ISSA has supported us since the organization’s inception, and it just makes sense for Cleaning For A Reason and ISSA to work together,” Sardone said. “For more than a decade, we’ve been approached by people from different countries, asking if we can expand to other territories. The good news is, now we can.”
Founded in 1923 by Alfred Richter, ISSA is a cause-driven trade association for the cleaning industry worldwide and is headquartered in Northbrook, IL. With more than 7,000 members in the commercial and residential cleaning industry, the association accomplishes Richter’s original goal of uniting the cleaning industry as a community.
ISSA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of ISSA, was later created to raise and provide funds for scholarships, research grants, and other programs that promote the welfare of the general public as it relates to the sanitation, cleaning, and maintenance industry. With such a strong goal in mind and community at hand through the ISSA Foundation, Cleaning For A Reason hopes to double or triple its outreach.
“I can’t think of a more worthy cause or better fit for ISSA than Cleaning For A Reason,” said John Barrett, ISSA Executive Director. “We can’t remove a woman’s cancer, but we can wipe away one of her worries.”
As more and more women are being diagnosed, more lives are being turned upside down. Easing the burden of a messy environment while minimizing tasks for women with cancer is what Cleaning For A Reason does. The organization has over 1,200 maid services that donate free house cleaning to these women. Since 2006, the nonprofit’s partner maid services have volunteered their time to clean for over 25,000 women – services valued at over $6,500,000. This number is expected to grow exponentially with the upcoming partnership.
The efforts of Cleaning For A Reason have not gone unnoticed, as it ranked #2 on Reader’s Digest list of “25 Uplifting, Quirky Things That Could Only Happen in America,” and was introduced by Oprah back in 2009 as an invaluable gift to women undergoing cancer treatment.
The partnership is not just a change, but an improvement and growth upon an original and core value that both organizations share. In Sardone’s words, “Cancer isn’t limited to one place; it hits every culture,” so with this merging of missions, the Texas nonprofit aims to continue sweeping the planet with a heartfelt mission of “cleaning for a reason.”
.jpg)
