Debbie Sardone started Cleaning for a Reason to provide free housecleaning services to women undergoing cancer treatment. The nonprofit organization has donated more than $5.5 million worth of housekeeping services to cancer patients over the last decade.
But it’s the woman Sardone never got to help, the one who inspired her to start the foundation, that she thinks about every day.
Courtesy of Cleaning for a Reason Cleaning for a Reason staff, and some of the patients they have helped.
The potential client had called Sardone’s cleaning company seeking an estimate, which she couldn't afford because chemotherapy and radiation sessions left her unable to work.
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“She said, ‘Maybe I’ll call you when I can afford it,’ and hung up. And that was before Caller ID. I had no way to call her back,” Sardone told TODAY.com. “I made a decision and shared with my staff that day that the next time a woman battling cancer called our office needing help with her home, if she couldn’t afford it, we would just give it to her completely for free.”
Years later, Sardone shared the story while speaking at a national convention of cleaning professionals, many of whom expressed interest in adopting a similar policy.
“They were big companies, little companies, mom and pops who do the work themselves, and even big franchises,” said Sardone, 56. “Many of them came up to me after my workshop and said, 'I want to do that in my town.'”
Courtesy of Cleaning for a Reason Debbie Sardone, Cleaning for a Reason founder
That prompted Sardone to create Cleaning for A Reason, a nonprofit organization celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The group has helped more than 19,000 cancer patients so far.
Cleaning for a Reason gets about 1,400 requests for service each month. It works with companies throughout the nation and Canada willing to provide cancer patients with one free cleaning a month for four months. While the businesses — which must be insured and conduct background checks on its workers — do not charge the women for their services, their employees are paid for their work.
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Stacey Steele said Cleaning for a Reason “truly changed my life” nearly two years ago right after undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer. At the time, her health and the welfare of her children were her top priorities — not vacuuming rugs and dusting furniture.
“My focus was on trying to keep things routine and normal for the kids and getting my health back. I wasn’t thinking about cleaning the bathroom,” she said.
“Knowing your house is being taken care of when you don’t have the energy to get out of bed helps lift a huge stress from you," she said. “At the time, I was so weak that showering would literally be my main activity for the day. And when you’re not feeling good, the last thing you want to do is go into a dirty bathroom.”
Courtesy of Cleaning for a Reason Staff of Debbie Sardone's private cleaning company, a Cleaning for a Reason partner that helps women with cancer.
R.J. Patel has helped more than 240 cancer patients since his company, PCT Clean, partnered with Cleaning for a Reason in 2006. He said he jumped at the chance to help women during this "extremely vulnerable time."
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“Women take a lot of pride in their home, and when the home is not where they want it to be, their psychology is hurt, and when they’re hurt mentally, their healing takes longer,” he said.
“It’s just a pleasure to serve these people. When we get the call to go out and literally take care of them, I know that we’re doing God’s work in their homes.”
PCT Clean PCT Clean owner R.J. Patel said his company has provided free housecleaning services to 243 cancer patients through its Cleaning for a Reason partnership.
Cleaning for a Reason is limited by the number and location of the cleaning businesses on its roster, and Sardone said she is desperate to find more partners.
“There are probably 25,000 cleaning services in the United States. We have only 1,150 of them. We want every maid service in the country to join, but most have probably never heard of us,” she said. Because of her certainty in the “power of benevolence,” she said she knows "others would join and donate if they just knew we were around.”
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Sardone has owned a private cleaning business for more than 30 years. She also owns a business that manufactures natural cleaning products and a consulting service for cleaning companies.
“My whole world is about cleaning. If there’s dust or a toilet, my name might be on it,” she said with a laugh. “I understand the needs of cleaning and how difficult it is. And I understand how good it makes you feel when you have a clean house.”
But when the service can easily average more than $120 for a single-family home, she also understands not everyone can afford the service, especially when going through a health crisis — like the woman who called her nearly 20 years ago.
“I think of her nearly every day,” Sardone said. "I am continually reminded of how many women could use our help."
Follow TODAY.com writer Eun Kyung Kim on Twitter.
alpha_helix on November 4th, 2017 at 16:57 UTC »
I own a cleaning company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We wanted to do Cleaning for a Reason but it was too restrictive. They only let the patients have one clean per month, the duration of the service is short, and they only allow women.
So instead, we started our own. We partnered with the cancer center at the biggest hospital in the city. We do 3 months of cleaning but we clean every 2 weeks. Each patient ends up getting 6 cleans for free. Each of our cleaning teams handles 2 patients at a time, which is roughly 5% of capacity. We handle every type of cancer, and any gender. We've had a very positive response with the program.
TL;DR - Cleaning for a Reason is a great start, but it can be improved. So we did that.
scionoflogic on November 4th, 2017 at 14:23 UTC »
My mom has breast cancer and the last two chemo sessions she's gone to she's sat beside the same man. They got to chatting and she asked what type of cancer he had. He told her he has breast cancer, but he doesn't like telling people that. Apparently he's had some pretty disgusting reactions from people. Apparently that isn't the appropriate type of cancer for him to have.
compwalla on November 4th, 2017 at 12:52 UTC »
I am a cancer patient and I did use this service. They work with local cleaning services. You get four two hour cleanings spaced out over a few months. It was nice but the local service that came to my house didn't really do what I needed; I needed a general cleaning of the whole house and instead they spent the entire two hours deep cleaning (like super deep cleaning) one room each visit.
That was probably more an issue with the local service and not Cleaning For a Reason. But I never really fussed about it because it was a donated service and I was too weak and sick from chemo to muster the energy to protest while the local folks were in my house.