I Pledge, I Matter People. SERVPRO

2/4/2019 (Permalink)

I Pledge, I Matter!

I Pledge, I Matter

Community involvement is always a very big deal. This can mean many different things to different. Community is all around us, it is where we work, live and play. Community is us!

SERVPRO of Piatt/Dewitt Counties is active in our community and feels that it is not just good business sense, but it the right thing to do. What that looks like takes many forms. We are involved in homecoming and Christmas parades. We are involved with the Area Chambers of Commerce, supporting our community. We do food drives, Trick or Treat safe spaces, go to ribbon cutting ceremonies, pancake and sausage breakfasts and heavily support Shop with a Cop programs by opening up our warehouse to the kids so they can enjoy pizza while participating in dozens of activities we have put together.

Now we are venturing into something new to us. We have started our I Pledge, I Matter program which is a non profit that looks to bring awareness to and advocates for the prevention of teen suicide. Every day 3,041 teens attempt suicide in the US, that’s every day. These numbers are actually going up and resources are stretched thin.

Our intention is to raise money to train teachers, support staff, first responders and counselors on how to spot warning signs in at risk teens. Teens do not interact the same as they once did. They tend to be isolated behind a cell phone or tablet and on to of reduced real interaction they are now exposed to cyber bullying and do not learn coping mechanisms when faced with real life adversity. We want to change this. By training teachers, counselors and first responders to spot warning signs in an ever changing world and what to do afterwards is critical. We can help.

On November 2, 2019 we will be putting on a 10k/5k/1 mile fun run to bring awareness to this problem and raise money for the resources needed to help stop teen suicide. We will also be active with the school systems in exchanging ideas and best practices to help at risk teens. We will post more details as they become available. Working together for a better tomorrow is key! MM

Let SERVPRO help keep you warm at the bus stop this winter

12/13/2018 (Permalink)

Stay warm this winter with the help of your local SERVPRO of Piatt and Dewitt counties.

Staying warm while waiting on the bus is essential. Follow these three steps to avoid being miserably cold when the bus has not yet arrived at your stop.

 1. Plan Ahead

Decide what the shortest possible time is that is necessary to spend waiting outside for the bus. Arrive five minutes early, buses can arrive early and may not wait if you are not in sight. 

2. Dress To Keep Warm

Dressing appropriately for the winter cold means that you are wearing a hat, mittens, a scarf, warm boots, and a warm jacket. Thick clothing and lots of layers are ideal. 

3. Move Around

Doing cardio such as moving your body and jumping up and down helps generate some heat. A yoga chair pose can also generate heat. When standing, waiting for the bus, get in chair pose, bend your knees with your thighs as parallel to the ground as you can get. If you do this with your legs together you will stay warmer, then press your thighs into each other as hard as you can to generate lots of heat. 

Hurricane relief brings Central Illinois Together

11/29/2018 (Permalink)

Hard to believe the time has gone by since this disaster.  Seems like just yesterday, guess when an event is so devastating it remains etched in your mind.  Disaster can strike anywhere and SERVPRO is always there to step up, this time however, it was all of Central Illinois rallying around the State of Texas along with SERVPRO in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.  

As a Storm Event, SERVPRO sent a majority of its staff and resources to assist the people in the state of Texas.  The team realizing we would be taking down an extra empty box truck came up with the idea of taking donations of much needed non perishable and food items the day before leaving.  Everyone we contacted quickly stepped up and offered their time and services to make this happen, starting with the Clinton Fire Department and the Superintendent of the Clinton school district.  All the schools, local businesses and the wonderful community, not just from Clinton, but also from Decatur, Bloomington, Moroa, Forsythe, Argenta, Monticello, Mahomet, Farmer City, Lincoln, Atlanta, Mt Pulaski, Bement and more stood and delivered.  We had hoped to fill a box truck top to bottom with goods showing our support for Texas.  We surpassed all expectations, we filled three box trucks!!!!  

It was amazing to watch as donations poured in fast and furious at the First Christian Church in Clinton.  Students came from the High School to volunteer their help sorting, loading and unloading.  The local Police and Fire Department collected items from the many drop off points around town.  A group of preschoolers arrived in a train of wagons to deliver toothbrushes.  It was truly amazing to see people from all walks of life step up to help out people they have never met.  

SERVPRO sent the first truck down with the crew and the owner brought the next loads down soon after.  The items raised went to the First Christian Church in Houston, Texas.  They had set up an emergency food bank and were in need of donations.  The church shared with all the local churches in the area to get much needed relief to those who needed it most.  The first truck load was fully dispersed to the  people that night, and did not sit in a warehouse a single day.  What an amazing experience and we here at SERVPRO take our hats off in honor of all the people of Central Illinois, you did us all proud!  

It Starts With An Idea

11/27/2018 (Permalink)

Community does not just happen, it starts with an idea and grows.  An idea that brings people from all walks of life together and unites us.  That is a very powerful thing and starts with a simple idea.

After watching the pain that has swept our communities throughout Central Illinois with the rise of teen suicide these last several years we wanted to do something that would help put an end to this horror that effects everyone from rural towns to the biggest of cities.  But what could we do?  We talked to Pastors, Police and Fire Departments, School Officials, Behavioral Professionals and Elected Officials.  What we discovered is that the organizations that deal and support the schools are overloaded.  One official told me that they deal suicide in some context on a daily basis and is surprised the numbers are not higher.  What we discovered is that training and resources are the biggest need.  Kids these days do not process stress and depression the same way we did when we were kids.  With limited resources and training available we have a lot of ground to make up.

SERVPRO wanted to help so we came up with an idea to both raise money and raise awareness to this cause.  We are now in the process of organizing the "I Pledge I Matter campaign" and a 10K/5K/1 mile walk next November.  The Run is to raise money for existing programs that train teachers and professionals that are on the front lines helping our kids.  We have a goal raising $9000 to go to these programs that help our kids and have a direct impact across all of Central Illinois.  We cannot think of a better way to help grow our community than to help our kids through tough and difficult times.  This is a topic that we will blog about quite a bit as this idea grows and takes shape over the next year. 

Hurricane Harvey Unites Central Illinois

3/26/2018 (Permalink)

Disaster can strike anywhere and SERVPRO is always there to step up, this time however, it was all of Central Illinois rallying around the State of Texas along with SERVPRO in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.  

As a Storm Event, SERVPRO of Clinton sent a majority of its staff and resources to assist the people in the state of Texas.  The team realizing we would be taking down an extra empty box truck came up with the idea of taking donations of much needed non perishable and food items the day before leaving.  Everyone we contacted quickly stepped up and offered their time and services to make this happen, starting with the Clinton Fire Department and the Superintendent of the Clinton school district.  All the schools, local businesses and the wonderful community, not just from Clinton, but also from Decatur, Bloomington, Moroa, Forsythe, Argenta, Monticello, Mahomet, Farmer City, Lincoln, Atlanta, Mt Pulaski, Bement and more stood and delivered.  We had hoped to fill a box truck top to bottom with goods showing our support for Texas.  We surpassed all expectations, we filled three box trucks!!!!  

It was amazing to watch as donations poured in fast and furious at the First Christian Church in Clinton.  Students came from the High School to volunteer their help sorting, loading and unloading.  The local Police and Fire Department collected items from the many drop off points around town.  A group of preschoolers arrived in a train of wagons to deliver toothbrushes.  It was truly amazing to see people from all walks of life step up to help out people they have never met.  

SERVPRO sent the first truck down with the crew and the owner brought the next loads down soon after.  The items raised went to the First Christian Church in Houston, Texas.  They had set up an emergency food bank and were in need of donations.  The church shared with all the local churches in the area to get much needed relief to those who needed it most.  The first truck load was fully dispersed to the  people that night, and did not sit in a warehouse a single day.  What an amazing experience and we here at SERVPRO take our hats off in honor of all the people of Central Illinois, you did us all proud.