Local Heroes

Ellen Johnston (Above & Beyond Housekeeping Services / Wyomissing, PA) - 69 News in Reading, PA on 4/24/20 headlined "Housekeeping company gives out free hand sanitizer" 
"I was in the disinfectant aisle, just because I wanted to see it, and there was an older couple, say in their 80's. There was no disinfectant of any kind," recalled Ellen Johnston. She overheard the wife ask her husband a question we all have probably asked over the past couple weeks. "It was so sad," Johnston shared. "She said, 'What are we gonna do?' and he said, 'I guess we will just have to drive around and look at other places.'" So Johnston and her staff decided to create a temporary place to give out much-needed refills of hand sanitizer, even the though the company is struggling. "We are down about 95% among our clients," Johnston said. "We are trying to spread the work that we have among our employees to keep them working," Johnston said.
In a grocery store aisle or anywhere else for that matter, nobody should have to do without. "Everybody has to dig deep and see how they can help their community," Johnston said.

Mary Connolly (Maid IV Service / Countryside, IL) - I have been offering disinfectant to police stations, fire station, gas stations, and general public as much as possible, I have hosted my first give away and will continue to host them for the duration of lock down in my city.

Mark Lineberry (Universal Janitorial Services / Fairfax,VA) - We're donating 10% of all revenue in April, including from the EIDL, to support two local area food banks. Plus we are donating $100 for every new contract signed in April. We anticipate a donation of $10,000 in total. In fact, Round 1 out. $2021.55 each to the Capital Area Food Bank and Britepaths (formerly called our Daily Bread). Second round will likely go out May 1 and will be more than this payment, thanks to the EIDL advance.

Michelle Allegrezza (Sparkling Homes Cleaning Service / Albertville, MN) - Outside of running her cleaning company, Michelle is a trained EMS and runs a side company in the medical field. She says, "My boyfirend Jake Shoulak and I are making 3D masks made with antimicrobial filament and comes with surgical grade filters. We have gotten a ton of donations and currently have six 3D printers running 24 hours a day to keep up with demand! Check out Jake's site if you'd like to order masks.

Hannah Brees (Shine & Sparkle / Dallas, OR) - At Shine & Sparkle we have been offering free grocery deliveries, free meals to kids in need delivered to their door step, hand written encouragement cards to our clients, and for every $100 gift card purchased for a healthcare worker we are donating $25! We’ve raised about $1500 so far, plus our donation!

Beth Lane (Lavender Fields Cleaning / Palm Bay, FL) - Beth was featured on the Solo Cleaning School Podcast in "Trust is Everything". Beth had this say as a solo cleaner. " the only way I have serving my community is to continue serving my clientele. We have been fortunate here on the Space Coast of Florida. Our community has been minimally impacted by the virus

Asuncion Duarte (The Cleaning Bee by Asuncion / Lemoore, CA) - "I have been serving my clientele by going the extra mile on thier home since I'm not too busy as I used too. I have a lady helping me since her husband is out of work so in a way I have been helping my friend/ helper so they can still make it to pay the rent. On my spare time I have been going over the Unite 1-4 and reading books. I would love to do more by helping elderly do grocery shopping or any help I can since I've posted on local pages but none really reached out. Although I am able to take care of 2 dogs by going to her home and feed them since the owner of the dog is stuck in the Philippines. :)"

Shelby Miller (Shelby Sells Homes KW / Quakertown, PA) - Two local realtors with Keller Williams Realty Group , Shelby Miller and Trisha Lutteroty have been adding value to their sphere of influence and past clients by offering free education and healthy tips for the last 4 weeks. What they have done is scheduled leaders in the community to make themselves available via Zoom to have their clients, family and friends be able to call in and ask specific questions about concerns they may have during this trying and somewhat difficult time. They have brought in a Financial Advisor to answer questions about what is happening in the finance world. A mortgage lender to discuss mortgage forbearance and other options out there. Last week a commercial lender discussed the Paycheck Protection Plan and SBA loan. These ladies like to have fun and know that mentally everyone needs a break. So they also have a special guest each week provide some type of fun and relaxation to the mix. They have Stretched for Sanity , offered free Yoga classes as well as partnered with a local gym owner to give suggestions on working out at home. These two women have made it their mission to add value to those people in their lives that they really care about.

We know that Corona is contagious, but so is GIVING! When I connected with Shelby this week and shared what I was doing to educate the community on the "9 Mistakes in Disinfecting", she invited me to be the next expert on her local show. Now, two local heroes can team up to help even more people.

Have you ever seen the ripples from a pebble in the water? I'm sure you have. Do you know that everything you do, positive or negative has a ripple effect!? Let's choose to be positive and like Ellen Johnston said so beautifully.  

"Everybody has to dig deep and see how they can help their community."