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Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Placing elderly and disabled veterans with your company

AC Lockyer · none

Cleaning for Heroes wrote:

If you had a chance to advertise your business and distinguish yourself far above your competition, would you do it? We want to help you do just that -- and we'll even help you for free.
My name is Torrey Shannon and I am the Executive Director of a veteran non-profit program called "Cleaning for Heroes." Some of you may recognize me as the moderator called "Tailored Maid" on other cleaning forums. Others may also know me as the wife of a severely injured combat veteran. I am here to ask for your help and consideration.

Cleaning for Heroes would like to extend an invitation for you to join our network and discuss placing a disabled or elderly veteran with your company.
Here is a portion of a request that came in to our program recently:
"Kevin was a front-line combat medic on his 13th month of deployment when he was injured. He lived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. For two full years and underwent over 32 surgeries. My husband Charles also served in the U.S. Army during Viet Nam. My husband was Kevin's "caregiver" at Walter Reed for the two years Kevin was there at Walter Reed.
Unfortunately, just last week my husband went to the hospital for a "standard outpatient procedure" (colonoscopy) and the doctor found a massive tumor in his colon which is Stage 4 colon cancer which has already spread to his liver and to his pelvis. My husband now has a permanent colostomy bag and will have to undergo both chemotherapy and radiation. My son Kevin is coming to visit us. We desperately need help cleaning our home. My husband was in ICU and was just released from the hospital yesterday."
When an application comes in our office, sometimes there is no time left to wait. We need professional companies like yours to join NOW and show the heroes in our communities that we care.
About Cleaning for Heroes:
Cleaning for Heroes is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and non-partisan organization that gives the opportunity and ability to say “Thank you for your service and sacrifice” in a meaningful, practical and tangible way. Cleaning for Heroes is the only non-profit organization that provides free household cleaning, maintenance, and repair services to elderly and disabled veterans and first responders in need.

For your reference, it costs nothing to join and there are no membership fees to be a part of our program. All we ask is that the service company pledge a comfortable amount of free residential services toward veterans and heroes in their community each month. Our network providers are recognized by their communities as a caring and socially responsible business that operates with a moral compass. Goodwill is a powerful tool and can result in many more paying clients who may choose your company over a competitor that does not participate in our program. We offer many free marketing tools to build your business along with products and discounts to offset the cost of your investment to your community. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

NBC Dallas recently just did a story on one of our providers after receiving her FREE and customized press release. We'd love it if you could get the same positive publicity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh8RnxW4kAU
We are also having fun with our 3,200+ fans on Facebook with a new contest for a prize valued at $700. The first 100 providers to join are automatically entered to win. This could be YOU!

The process to become a member of our program is very easy. Our application to join is attached. Just fill it out and send it back via email, fax, or mail. Please contact us as soon as possible so we can get your business recognized right away! My cell number is 757-536-2743 (MST) or you may call our headquarters at (401) 732-7856 if you have any questions. It really will be our pleasure to have you come on board, and we are sure the pleasure will be yours too!

Blessings,

Torrey Shannon
National Spokesperson/Co-Executive Director
Cleaning for Heroes
You can join us on Facebook and Twitter or visit our website and blog to learn more.

-- Edited by Cleaning for Heroes on Monday 6th of September 2010 12:55:54 AM

Hey Yall,

This looks like a good program. In most States the govt will actually give you money to offset the expense of training these HEROS!

AC

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Thank you AC. There is no other program like ours and we are receiving incredible feedback from the veterans we serve, the communities we serve, and the providers who come aboard. We are incredibly grateful for the providers who have joined our program!

Like I said, it costs NOTHING to join, and our providers will only be asked to pledge and donate a comfortable level of free residential services to veterans in their community each month. If you pledge as a Bronze provider, you are only giving $100 in services per month. I know many of you spend more than that in advertising costs. Here is what you get in FREE advertising just for joining!

All pledge levels will receive the following benefits:

· Customized Cleaning for Heroes logo to use on your website and marketing materials,

· Free or discounted products from our sponsors,

· TWO free customized press releases with complimentary distribution to your local media per year,

· Free fundraising tools,

· Free marketing and business advice through our periodic newsletters,

· A listing on our directory of providers that will link to your website for added exposure, driving more traffic to your business. (New and improved website coming soon!)

· If the demand for your services exceed your donated amount, funding MAY be provided on a case-by-case basis, and based upon availability.

We do the rest of the work so you don't have to! Goodwill is a powerful tool and can result in many more paying clients who may choose your company over a competitor that does not participate in our program. Your direct business costs of your donated cleanings can be reported as a deduction on your taxes* and this will allow you to build your business by donating your services to those in need. Our sponsors have been carefully selected to provide free or discounted products to your company, which will help defray the cost of your investment to your community. Our first mission is to help veterans, but we also want you to be recognized for your generosity too! Becoming a part of our network of providers not only feels good, but it makes good business sense.

We have a lot of exciting events coming up too. We are hosting a "Salute to Veterans" breakfast at the ISSA convention in Orlando, FL on November 12th. Our visibility is expected to explode in response to our charity gala event planned for next year. We also have some exciting big-name sponsors to announce very soon, with a media tour planned in conjunction with these announcements. If you aren't on board by then, you'll want to be! :)

If you have any questions, let us know. I am more than happy to answer them here or just call me directly if you prefer.

Bless you!

Glen · Guest

Torrey, you can count me in. I live in and work the whole state of Delaware. As a vet. but not disabled, I understand the hardships.

Glen · Guest

All signed up. No pain at all. Remember, they did what they did so all of us can do what we are doing. You should always give back. This is a way to do that.

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Sep 7, 2010

I am willing to offer my services to 100% disabled vets free of charge (within the NJ counties I serve). I've tweeted the offer a few times but thats as far as I've gone. If you know a way to plug me in let me know.

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Hey guys! Thanks! You ROCK!

The official application is attached to my first post. I appreciate all who have called or emailed a request for the application to join! If anyone else wants to apply, just upload the form from my first post (or give us an email or call if you have problems accessing it.) We are sending this form to everyone now and following up on the calls today. Thanks so much for your help!

Torrey

zjim · Guest

If you need help in Upstate let me know. I just did a service for free for a vet. This hits close to home. I have friends who fought in both wars and that are there now. My nephew is in boot camp as we speak for the US Marine Corps

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Jim, even if we don't have a client waiting for services in your area, I recommend joining anyway. It will still give you great (FREE!) marketing for your region, and this helps us spread the word to veterans that we have a provider available for them if they need it.

Regardless if you join now or later, I’m very happy to hear that you (and many others!) are interested in joining us in our mission to help our community heroes!

To make it easier, I’ve attached a copy of our official application and release form to this post (on the bottom of this message) that I will need filled out, signed and returned to us. If you have trouble accessing this file or don't see it, let me know.

You can send a copy of the application and liability release form back to us either by fax (866-389-3445), via email or snail mail. Please do this right away since we can’t add you as a member until we receive your completed application and liability release form.

Once we receive your completed application we will send you a copy of our membership packet which outlines our program. We will also send you a copy of our logo for use on your website and other marketing materials that you may wish to use it on. After you've joined I'll also get your press releases ready for publication to your local media.

Again, thank you very much for applying! If you have any questions please feel free to contact us via email or by calling our office at 401-732-7856

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Ed, here's how our program works...I hope this answers your question about how to get "plugged in" to the veterans in your area. We do all that for you. :)

As much as we would like to rely on the "Code of Honor" system that military members inherently carry, the general public has citizens that will abuse this honor system to take advantage of the benefits we provide to first responders and military members only. We reach out to VA hospitals and other program like the Army Wounded Warrior (AW2) case managers who are intimately familiar with the high-risk veteran population that could use our help.

Cleaning for Heroes screens applications for assistance based on evidence of existing or prior military/first responder service and evidence of an ongoing disability or elderly status. We accept applications from all eras of service and we make no distinction between levels or types of disabilities. Once an applicant has been verified and approved through our program, we connect them with local pre-approved companies to provide cleaning, maintenance, and/or repair services in the client’s home to facilitate a clean, healthy, safe living environment.

Companies who have been accepted into our program are screened to verify they carry the proper liability insurance and agree to actively perform proper background checks for all staff that are performing in-home services. If no provider is available for the applicant, we will recruit the necessary companies to meet these unmet needs.

Each company on our network of providers agrees to pledge a minimum of $100 in free services per month to remain on our program. All companies have the option of giving three increasing pledge levels per year. Most companies participate the mid-level pledge of $2500 in donated services per year.

When an applicant is placed with a local company, the company will schedule an initial consultation and begin scheduling the client for approximately four months of maintenance services (Maid/Lawn/etc) or for one-time cleaning jobs (Power washing/Air Duct Cleaning/Tile and Grout, etc.)

Estimates are presented to our program to identify and verify the overall cost of services needed from each individual company. In the event that the services will exceed the donated pledge amount, funding is applied on a case-by-case basis.

I hope that helps explain our program in more detail. Thanks!

Confident Roof Cleaning Houston TX · Guest

I've had the application on the desk for a day now, just need to send it in.

I'm in.

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Confident Roof Cleaning Houston TX wrote:

I've had the application on the desk for a day now, just need to send it in.

I'm in.

We have a Houston client with a LOT of issues to deal with on his home. He's a Korean-era elderly vet who has had three open heart surgeries and five strokes. His wife is also disabled. Their home suffered damage from Hurricane Ike so we have a LOT of services we are working on for them. If he's in your service area, we may have you assess the viability of their roof to know if it can even withstand a cleaning. Based on the pics that their maid service sent us, this client may need an entirely new roof. Having you on board to guide us on just how "bad" it is would be SO much help!

Edited to add: The reaction we got from the client's wife when she found out we had a maid provider lined up is referenced in this blog post -- http://cleaningforheroes.posterous.com/its-not-about-a-shiny-sink

I also talk about this family on our YouTube channel. I was telling the story to the audience at the Rags to Riches Success Maid Easy seminar in Denver about when this veteran heard about our program and got good news from us that we'd help, his wife said, "I have called our mayor, I have called our Congressman, and I have talked to anyone that I could find that would listen. You were the very first to ever give a damn."

-- Edited by Cleaning for Heroes on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:21:06 PM

-- Edited by Cleaning for Heroes on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 08:22:22 PM

Confident Roof Cleaning Houston TX · Guest

Shoot me over the address and I may be able to stop by tomorrow to assess it. if not tomorrow then definately by the end of the week.

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Wow! That's fast! LOL

Can you send over the application via fax so I can make the official connection to this client? Thanks!

Confident Roof Cleaning Houston TX · Guest

Ill have it to you tonight.

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Even though the office is closed and Kara and Alison are done for the day....Anne and I are going to be up late working on the new applications that have come in, so that's perfect. Thank you!

Confident Roof Cleaning Houston TX · Guest

Fax is on the way. Please let me know when you get it.

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Confident Roof Cleaning Houston TX wrote:

Fax is on the way. Please let me know when you get it.

Got it! Everything looks perfect. I'll email you your welcome packet soon and the client info. Thank you!!!!

Cleaning for Heroes · Guest

Who is closest to New City, NY? We are approving an application right now for a police officer that suffered a catastrophic injury while apprehending a suspect. He is 100% disabled, permanent and total. He's going to need all the help he can get both inside and outside his home.

I have more applicants to share that need help, but let's go with one at a time. LOL

ssk · Guest

Very cool. Good for you guys participating. Way to give back!!

I hope to grow so I can start doing stuff like that.

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"Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"