House cleaning is a very personal service and it allows busy families and individuals to have more time for the things that matter most, especially spending precious time with family and friends. “When people join our team we tell them, you are not only cleaning homes for busy people, you are making their lives better.” says Jeannie Henderson.
As part of our mission, the Jeannie Cleaning Team was inspired to start the first-ever MAKING LIVES BETTER AWARDS in 2022. The Making Lives Better Awards are designed to shine a light on the life-changing work happening right here in our community. Nominations of local individuals and organizations who give of their time, talent and resources were collected July and the community was invited to vote for their favorite from August 1-12, 2022.
The top three winners were announced at the Awards Celebration event hosted by GQT Movies Kalamazoo 10 on August 17th. The 1st place winner received a $1000 donation to the non-profit organization of their choice, 2nd place received a $300 donation and 3rd place received $200.
MAKING LIVES BETTER AWARDS WINNERS
1st Place – Twelve Baskets Food Pantry
2nd Place – First Day Shoe Fund
3rd Place – MRC Industries
1st Place – Twelve Baskets Food Pantry
Twelve Baskets Food Pantry has recently celebrated their 8th anniversary of “Stomping Out Hunger “ in our communities. The pantry has seen many lives turned around during this time.
It’s a 100% self-funded and volunteer based organization. Each week approximately 150 families receive a grocery cart full of free food.
The current facility doesn’t provide space for the vehicles that make runs 7 days a week for food donations. Twelve Baskets is in the process of purchasing the building adjacent to the pantry. This building will provide space for storage, The Free Store and many other uses.
2nd Place – First Day Shoe Fund
First Day Shoe Fund (FDSF) is a local, grassroots initiative whose mission is to provide a unique service to children in the Kalamazoo area by distributing new shoes to students in need. Their mission states “ First Day Shoe Fund provides new athletic shoes to students in need at Kalamazoo County public elementary schools. We believe that all children should start school on equal footing”
First Day Shoe Fund has been around since 2005 and, since that time, has distributed over 45,000 pairs of brand new athletic shoes to elementary aged students in need. Every fall, FDSF collects orders from families who need shoes for their elementary aged students and packs up the perfect pair of shoes. In 2021 alone, over 5200 pairs of shoes were given away to students attending 46 different public elementary schools in Kalamazoo county. FDSF is the only organization providing this much needed service to students in our community.
3rd Place – MRC Industries
MRC Industries, Inc. is a non-profit organization in Kalamazoo providing employment, skill-building and case management services to individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury and/or mental illness.
MRC’s mission is to encourage and support individuals living with a disability to achieve their fullest potential through employment, skill-building and active community involvement.
Visit https://jeanniecleaning.com/making-lives-better/ for more details and to nominate your favorite business for next year!