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(248) 543-0340 | www.janetdaviscleaners.com 27607Woodward Ave., Berkley, MI 48072 “HOT OFF THE PRESS” Dry Cleaning News
SEPTEMBER 2020
ADOPTING AN ANIMAL My Wife and Daughters' Passion
When I learned that International Day of Charity is celebrated this month, I thought immediately of my wife and daughters. My wife and my two girls both love animals. It is their love for animals that has led each of them to annually adopt an endangered or threatened animal. Why? Because they believe as people we must advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. It is through adoption or sponsoring of an animal that they are helping preserve, conserve, rescue, rehabilitate, release, and educate. They believe — find your passion(s) and make a difference. My wife has loved animals since she was little, and it was something I knew even before we were married; I just didn’t realize how much. I remember it was shortly after we were married that we were driving to visit my parents when we saw these turtles trying to cross the road. So, my wife had us pull over, and the two of us blocked traffic long enough for the turtles to make it across the two-lane street safely. I remember at the time I was a bit worried about the car because I had just got it, but my wife was adamant about helping those turtles. It was the first time I had jumped in to help her rescue an animal, and it was a good experience. I think this love of animals started with her grandmother and mom, who also helped animals and also adopted animals. It was her grandmother who encouraged my wife to do the same, and when she did, she chose to adopt one of her favorite animals: a manatee. My wife loves manatees — ask any of her students and even they can tell you. In eighth grade while biking Marco Island, she learned about manatees and reasons they were endangered. She learned the main reason was humans and boating accidents. It was then she wanted to further understand and learn more. For her birthday, her grandma gifted her with a manatee adoption/sponsorship of Lily from Save the Manatee — since eighth grade. For 23 years, my wife has been sponsoring Lily and supporting Save the Manatee.
This passion for animals was kindled in my eldest daughter, who, even at a very young age, loved all kinds of animals. But, like most people, she has a favorite. Two summers ago, we took a family vacation down south, and on the way back, we spent the night in Washington, D.C., specifically to see the cheetahs in the Smithsonian National Zoo. It was close enough to the route we were driving that we could stop to spend a day or two in D.C., then head home with this new experience. We got to see the cheetahs and bought some of the memorabilia from the zoo gift shop; part of the proceeds went directly into supporting the cheetahs. Later that summer, once we were back home, we went to the Columbus Zoo to see the cheetahs do their run, and then my eldest daughter adopted a cheetah. For her birthday, we gave her all the paperwork that went into adopting a cheetah, "Little C." After much research, we chose the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). CCF in Namibia works to conserve, educate, research, and protect the cheetah. The place from where she adopted the cheetah had sent in all these papers, and my wife and I put them into a binder for her. We put in a decent donation for her adopted cheetah, and now my daughter receives a cheetah newsletter, very similar to my wife’s manatee newsletter. Now, while we haven’t been able to do much because of the coronavirus, something very cool did happen with my daughter and the conservation she supports. During the lockdown, the conservation put on several Zoom calls that were only available to people who had adopted animals under their care. People were encouraged to ask questions and interact with the hosts during these calls.
In the call my daughter participated in, she asked a question and within a minute, the moderator stopped the presentation, directly
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CURBSIDE & PICKUP AND DELIVERY Rely on Our Experience
Got an Old Tire?
REUSE OLD MATERIALS FOR ECO-FRIENDLY OUTDOOR GAMES
Looking for ways to get your kids outdoors while teaching them how to be more eco- friendly? Try saving your old tires and soda bottles to make these fun outdoor games for the whole family! TIRE SWINGS Have you ever played swing games like Tumbling Tower? Build a tower of cardboard boxes and see if your child can
use their feet or shoes to kick it down while swinging! Tire swings are great for games or just enjoying the outdoors while the wind rushes through your hair. Few pieces of outdoor play equipment are more enticing than a swing for children and adults alike. This project doesn't cost very much, either. You just need a tire, rope, power drill, and the biggest tree in your yard. If you don’t have a tree, you can make a sturdy swing post with lumber! TETHERBALL Even if a tire swing isn’t in the cards for your family, don’t relinquish your old tire just yet! Turn it into another playground favorite: tetherball. Premade tetherball sets can cost up to $100, but a DIY version can cost less than $50. To start, you’ll need the tire, a metal pole, some pieces of rebar, cement, a round swivel eye bolt snap, and a tetherball on a rope. You’ll also need to use an impact drill with a bit made for metal. Drill a cross section of holes at the bottom of the metal pole and thread the pieces of rebar through each. Then drill a hole at the top for your round swivel eye bolt snap so you have a place to tie the rope. After centering the pole in the tire (using the end with the rebar pieces as the base), pour the cement in and let it dry. Once it’s dry, hang the ball with the bolt snap and watch your kids play tetherball for summers to come! BOWLING Have empty plastic soda bottles from your last takeout meal? Collect them, paint them white, and put two red stripes around the neck. Now you’ve got bowling pins! You don’t need a heavy bowling ball for this DIY set, either. Use a tennis or soccer ball to get the ball rolling on some family bowling at home. You don’t need games as popular as Minecraft to make special memories in your backyard. Take inspiration from these ideas and create your own family fun!
With the pandemic keeping everyone inside for such a long time, curbside & pickup and delivery services have boomed across the country. A variety of companies that hadn’t offered these services, or offered very limited services, now rushed to integrate them into their business. The goal is not only to continue to provide their customers or clients the same services they’d always had in a safe way but also to continue operating as a business. While the public has appreciated this effort, our team members included, many of these businesses aren’t applying these services effectively. However, the companies that have risen to this challenge and continue to provide satisfactory pickup and delivery services are those that already have these types of systems in place. For years, our team at Janet Davis Cleaners has provided these in-house services at no cost for the benefit of our customers. We understand that finding the time to come to our location to drop off clothes or household items is difficult, especially as life is often very busy. To ensure we could help clients whose schedules are packed full, we put our FREE pickup and delivery system in place and have been improving this system for quite some time. When the pandemic hit the country and businesses began to close, our services were already there and ready for our customers’ use. Over these past few months, our team leaped to this challenge with what we have already in place. In fact, we've been able to expand this portion of our business quite a bit; during COVID-19, we went from two pickup and delivery trucks to three. Our goal is to continue providing our community with the option to clean and sanitize their clothes and household items in a safe and effective manner. If you have a friend or know a family member who would benefit from our resources, send them our way and be sure to mention our FREE pickup and delivery service.
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MEET BENNY BARNES! Working to Help People in Every Step of His Life
Benny Barnes has been part of our team here at Janet Davis Cleaners for around 30 years. Benny has had a long career in the dry-cleaning business. Benny’s father owned a dry-cleaning business in Detroit from the late 1950s until the mid-1970s. Benny spent some of his time helping his dad, and afterward, working in the dry-cleaning industry until he eventually became a dry cleaner operator himself. Eventually, he sold his business and settled into semiretirement. Benny first started at Janet Davis Cleaners at its former location, in Dearborn, Michigan. “I worked with Dave Matthews, Kyle’s father, and the late Mr. Matthews,” Benny remembers. “I was with them for around 12 years.” But this wasn’t to be Benny’s only time with the company. “Around 4–5 years ago, Dave contacted me and asked me if I knew any good dry cleaners. When I told him I didn’t, he asked what I was doing. At the time, I was semiretired, outside of doing my full-time pastoring at the church. But we got to talking, and I’ve been working here ever since.” Having been in the dry-cleaning industry so long, Benny says he enjoys seeing the finished product. “I love the challenge of
trying to make something that doesn’t look like it’s supposed to into what it is supposed to look like.” And the experience and knowledge he has of this industry helps him achieve that goal for our customers.
When Benny isn’t working, he enjoys spending as much of his time as he can at home with his family. “I love being with family,” he says. “I’m a family guy and always have been. My kids are amazing, and I love my wife.” Benny also dedicates much of his free time as a full-time pastor, which he takes great fulfillment from. “It’s the pastor side of me that I think leads me to want to influence the work I do,” Benny adds. “If I can help someone gain success, I'm happy knowing that I did a little bit to get them where they wanted to go. This period of me working for Janet Davis is me wanting to help everyone here get to the next level of where they want the company to be. Whenever I leave, I’ll know I did something to help them get to where they want to.”
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Easy STUFFED SWEET POTATOES
recognized her as an adopter, thanked her for asking such a good question and for being a donor, and answered her question. It was something they didn’t have to do — a lot of people were on the call, mostly adults — but they did. It really helped reinforce her love for cheetahs and passion for adopting. That experience had a lifelong impact for her and also influenced her younger sister. My youngest daughter, seeing how enthusiastic her mom and older sister are about animals, has also expressed that she wants to adopt a giraffe, her favorite animal. We are currently researching different giraffe conservation organizations and will most likely gift her an annual sponsorship as well. My youngest loves to read about giraffes and their different prints. As a family, we are learning about them and the conservation efforts needed. I think it’s incredibly good for my daughters to become so passionate about giving back and doing something for the benefit of others. I’m proud to see how excited they are about supporting the animals they love, having a passion and seeing how an animal can make a difference. –Kyle Matthews
INGREDIENTS
• 4 medium sweet potatoes • 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed • 2 medium tomatoes, diced • 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin • 1 tsp coriander • 3/4 tsp salt • 1/4 cup sour cream • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
DIRECTIONS
1. With a fork, prick each sweet potato a few times. Microwave the potatoes on high 12–15 minutes, or until cooked through. 2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the beans, tomatoes, olive oil, cumin, coriander, and salt. When the potatoes are done, microwave the mixture on high for 2–3 minutes. 3. Cool potatoes slightly, then cut each potato open lengthwise. Pull the halves apart to create space to spoon the warm bean salsa inside. 4. Add a scoop of sour cream to each potato, garnish with cilantro, and serve!
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1 A Manatee, a Cheetah, and Now a Giraffe 2 Eco-Friendly DIY Outdoor Games (248) 543-0340 www.janetdaviscleaners.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE
27607Woodward Ave. Berkley, MI 48072
Clean and Sanitize Your Items While Safe at Home
3 Team Member Spotlight
Easy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
4 3 Fun Family Activities for Fall
3 FUN FAMILY ACTIVITIES FOR FALL GARDENING, GOLD, AND PHOTO SHOOTS
It’s fall, which means social media will soon be saturated with pictures of your friends enjoying “classic” fall activities. Photos of leaf peeping, apple picking, and the occasional scarecrow run rampant. But rather than following the herd, you can make your family the trendsetter of unique fall activities! Here are a few outdoor endeavors your family will love.
need to be planted in the fall. Do a little research with your family to determine the best time to start planting in your area.
PLAN A FALL PHOTO SHOOT.
PAN FOR GOLD.
It’s time to freshen up those family pictures hanging around the house. The changing leaves provide a beautiful background for any family portrait. Better yet, the cooler temperatures mean that an outdoor photo shoot won’t be nearly as uncomfortable as it would be in the summer. You can take your pictures by the trees in the front yard or make a daytrip of it. What about pictures at the corn maze or pumpkin patch? It’s never too soon to start planning this year’s holiday card.
Here’s one that’s really off the beaten path: Take your family on an adventure panning for gold! Start by planning a road trip out to an old ghost town. Many of them have great tourist attractions that include gold panning. You probably won't get rich, but it will still be a fun story. If you’re not able to make the trip, you can always create a gold panning operation at home! Visit MessForLess.net/panning- for-gold-activity for a great step-by-step guide on how to go panning for gold in your own backyard.
GET GARDENING.
Fall is the time for harvest, but if you want to enjoy flowers in the spring, it’s also a time for planting. The cooler autumn air is easier on plants, but the soil is still warm enough for roots to grow before the ground freezes for winter. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are all spring bulbs that
Spend this fall outdoors and create great new memories with your family!
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