Official Cleaning For A Reason Media Fact Sheet

Fighting cancer is difficult enough, living with it is even tougher…that’s where the Cleaning For A Reason Foundation steps in.  Cleaning For A Reason is the only national non-profit in the country providing FREE, professional housecleaning services for women undergoing cancer treatment. The Foundation, organized as a Texas Non-Profit Corporation, is raising money to provide more help for more women everywhere.

Formation:  The Foundation was officially formed in May 2006 as a Texas non-profit corporation. The only criteria for a woman to be accepted into the program is verification of treatment for cancer.  The Foundation extends this help to all women undergoing cancer treatment.

Founder:   Deborah Sardone, the founder, is a 25-year veteran of the housecleaning industry, owner of Buckets & Bows Maid Service in Lewisville, TX (a suburb of Dallas).

Tax Status:  The Foundation is a Texas non-profit corporation and has 501c3 tax exempt status from the IRS. 

Organizational Structure:  The Cleaning For A Reason Foundation is established under Articles of lncorporation and is governed by its By-Laws and a Board of Directors. The staff consists of an Executive Director, Executive Recruiter, Patient Advocate and Billing Clerks, who handle the day-to-day needs of the Foundation, Partners and supporters. The Foundation Call Center screens and qualifies requests for services before passing them on to a residential cleaning business to service.

Limitations:   The Foundation matches qualified patients first, with cleaning companies who have pledged to provide four (4) free housecleaning visits to each women in the program as long as they are undergoing treatment for cancer. 

Partners:  The Foundation recruits residential housecleaning businesses to donate time and money.  Housecleaning businesses must be insured and/or bonded and perform background checks on their employees. Each cleaning company commits to servicing at least two free accounts per month and contribute monthly financial pledges which are used to help sustain the base operations of the program. Today, there are over 700 Partners offering free services to women through out the United States and Canada.

Application:  Cancer patients are encouraged to visit www.cleaningforareason.org and fill out the online request form for services under the “cancer patient” link. 50 applications are accepted Monday through Friday at 12 noon Central Time. Not all areas are serviced. Partner locations are located under the "locations" link on the website. Typically, the maid service businesses will travel up to 15 miles from their business location. In large metropolitan areas, the distance is less.

 Needs:  Donations from corporations, individuals and grants are vital, based on the heavy demand for services. Sponsorship programs and fundraisers are utilized to help recruit more maid services and promote growth and expansion in order to help more women everywhere.