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published: Friday, October 23, 2009
Service aims to help those in need
ROXANNE BROWN
Staff Writer
MINNEOLA -- Dee Strickland and Stephen Kopp, owners of A Zing Zap Cleaning Service, have made it their passion to clean for a reason.
Zing Zap, a natural product-based business and residential professional green cleaning service in Minneola, has been around since 2007.
In that span, the company has given back to the community through promotions and contests awarding free or reduced services.
Recently, Strickland and Kopp have signed on with the Cleaning for a Reason Foundation and have committed themselves to the organization's mission of offering free professional cleaning services to improve the lives of women undergoing treatment for cancer.
This week, the two met their very first recipient whose home they will clean Oct. 26.
"You have to give from the heart to get back and to me, the 'get' part is the satisfaction of helping people," Strickland said. "People are like 'Wow, that's a great service.'"
"But the truth is, it's a much needed service."
Strickland said she did not realize what a difference cleaning for someone in such need can make until she started learning more about the foundation.
"These women are going through a really tough time. So to be able to go in and take a load off their minds and make them feel that someone really cares about them is huge" Strickland said. "I already know making them feel that way, like someone cares, is going to be really important to our company."
The foundation is a nationally-based volunteer organization that was started in 2005 by Debbie Sardone, who owns Buckets and Bows, a cleaning service in Lewisville, TX.
The organization is looking to expand its national volunteer base and was recently featured on Oprah Winfrey, where it was revealed that the foundation receives approximately 325 calls every month. To date, approximately $350,000 has been donated by about 500 maid services to help more than 2,000 women.
"It may not seem like much, but to these women who have been helped, it is an invaluable gift," Winfrey said on a taped spot aired on www.wfaa.com last week.
Strickland said the level of commitment expected from these cleaning and maid services is dependent on the number of employees each company has.
For Zing Zap's two employees, their commitment is helping two women per month -- four hours per cleaning -- for four months. After that, cleanings can be offered at a reduced rate to continue helping these women in need.
Strickland said she's confident the sacrifice will be worth their effort.
But Zing Zap is the only cleaning service in Lake County signed up for the program thus far.
That is why Strickland is spreading the word about Cleaning for a Reason, in an attempt to get more maid and cleaning services on board.
Strickland said that one service is not sufficient to meet the need that exists in Lake County.
"Belonging to the foundation has already expanded on our reasons for doing what we do ... because we want to help people," Strickland said. "Now that the word is getting out about Cleaning For A Reason, I know it's part of my job to call on all these other cleaning services and ask them to join because I can't complete this mission by myself."
If you are in need of help, or if you are a cleaning or maid service in Lake County wanting to help, call Dee Strickland at 352-227-9759 or visit www.cleaningforareason.org.
