Establish "The Mop Shop" to provide cleaning supplies to those families in need in Jo Daviess County, IL. Begin as a stand-alone entity until/unless user demand requires the move to a 501(C)(3) designation. Develop the concept to serve as a template for other counties within Illinois and throughout the country. The need was initially identified when several gift requests on the holiday "angel" tre
e at a local area business included "cleaning supplies." In follow-up conversations with DHS in Freeport, the Freeport Area Church Cooperative, the NW Illinois Community Action Agency, River Bend Food Bank and the Jo Daviess county food pantries, it was apparent only minimal cleaning supplies (dish soap, laundry soap and paper towels) were made available to clients. Understandably, their focus is on food procurement and distribution. Two Jo Daviess County food pantries fall under the domain of the River Bend Food Bank and receive food from this multi-county organization which oversees some 100 food pantries and itself falls under the national Feeding America Program. River Bend Food Bank advises that they see a need for cleaning supplies and that in fact, there have been preliminary discussions within Feeding America that begin to address this need. Business owners and leaders agree that they too see a need for such a service. Our intention remains steadfast...if individuals and families cannot afford food they likely cannot afford cleaning supplies. Living in an unsanitary and unhealthy environment negatively impacts not only the health of the individual/family but their self-esteem as well.
