The Power Of No - The Gift Of Squeegee

He used the money to buy a squeegee and parlayed his token donation into a window washing service. But McGee was even more inspired to see what happened next.

The Surprising Power of a Gift of ‘No’ (by Collette Caprara): The gift of “no”—captivated participants at The Heritage Foundation’s 2015 Antipoverty Forum. The tale was told by the gift’s donor, Patrick McGee, the prison initiatives manager of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP).

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is a nonprofit organization that links the nation’s top executives, entrepreneurs and MBA students with convicted felons, providing an entrepreneurship “boot camp” and re-entry programs to prevent recidivism and maximize self sufficiency and transform broken lives.

From personal experience and from his service to incarcerated men, McGee is a firm believer in self-determination, having witnessed the power an entrepreneurial venture can have in providing a threshold to becoming a productive, contributing member of society, even for those whose personal history dims prospects for employment.

So, when one of McGee’s nephew in his early teens asked if he would buy him a pair of athletic shoes, McGee declined the role of the generous uncle. He said, “No.” But he did give his nephew $15, and suggested that he make the most of it.

And his nephew did. He used the money to buy a squeegee and parlayed his token donation into a window washing service. But McGee was even more inspired to see what happened next.

The teen noticed that many of the homes that he visited in his neighborhood needed address markings on their front curbs. In response, he invested a portion of his earnings in stencils and spray paint and broadened his business to include that new service. In time, he had earned enough money to purchase a lawnmower, and soon his lawn-care service expanded to the point where he hired additional youths from his community to take on a portion of his growing list of clients.

McGee reported that his nephew is now finally old enough to get his driver’s permit and that he is very excited about getting his license—not as most teens are, with visions of cruising the streets with friends, but with a plan to purchase a truck to take his growing enterprise on the road. McGee summed up his story with a wink and a declaration: “That is a pretty good return on the gift of a No and $15!”

Had McGee chosen to purchase those athletic shoes, they may well have been replaced and discarded by now. In contrast, his small contribution came with a lesson that will serve his nephew for a lifetime.

Window Cleaners Gift "Giving Tuesday"

More than 2,000 recognized #GivingTuesday™ partners have come from all 50 states of the United States.

A Different Kind of Day, GIVING TUESDAY: We all recognize Black Friday and Cyber Monday as days to shop for bargains, and flood the malls and online shopping sites. Jenkintown Building Services is joining a new national initiative called "GivingTuesday", a day to give back to the community in varied and creative ways and develop giving opportunities.

Jenkintown will perform a window cleaning service today (Tuesday, Nov. 27th), for the Connelly House, rappelling the 8 story building and gifting free window cleaning.  Connelly House, a 79-unit residence, is the first LEED certified affordable housing facility in Philadelphia.  It is a partnership between Project H.O.M.E. and Bethesda Project and provides services and housing to formerly homeless men and women in Center City Philadelphia.

Ray Graber an employee of Jenkintown Window Cleaning works downtown in Philadelphia.

Marty Tuzman, CEO of Jenkintown, states, “I recently heard about #GivingTuesday and its call to service.  I immediately thought it was a perfect counter balance to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  GivingTuesday is the opposite of shopping.  It asks people and organizations to find a way they can give back. It is a reminder for us to pay attention during this holiday season to the meaningful and unique ways we can each uniquely help others and the world we live in.” Jenkintown Building Services is an 80 year old company that has provided varied building services over the years, including window cleaning, power washing, facade services and post construction cleaning.

A new tradition started on Tuesday to counter the spending frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s called “Giving Tuesday,” and businesses large and small were jumping onboard. It started with big charities like United Way and the Red Cross, but small businesses can also contribute charitably. The goal behind “Giving Tuesday” is to focus on charities, instead of retail. For many organizations, it’s a way to increase fund-raising in the race to the end of the year. “We will not write $100,000 checks, we won’t come close in digits,” says Marty Tuzman, owner of Jenkintown Building Services, a small window cleaning business, “but what we can do is give some of our time and give the talent that we have and be involved in the community in the unique ways that we as small businesses can.”

GivingTuesday is a new national initiative that has become increasingly popular since it was launched by the 92nd St Y, in New York, less than a year ago.  It encourages gifting, volunteering and other ways to give back to the community. Over 1600 partners have joined. Its supporters, also called "partners" are from all around the country and from all three sectors -- private industry, charitable sector and the government."

Jenkintown building services has a long-standing tradition of giving back to the community that has supported it for over six decades. They are the official window cleaner for all Habitat For Humanity homes in the Philadelphia area, and have cleaned over a dozen arts and cultural institutions through Hearts For The Arts program, which allowed deserving organizations with either limited or no budget for window cleaning to receive these services for free. In 2001, they asked customers to recommend organizations in need of window cleaning services, and through the Gift Of Service program, they are cleaning the windows of organizations that serve the public so well throughout the year.

Their goals are to put out a call to other area businesses to support deserving institutions with in-kind services, and to get the public to rally around area institutions. "I'd rather see these treasured organizations use their donations to buy what they need to help the community," says Jenkintown owner Marty Tuzman. "By offering a service donation in-kind, we're helping free up money for more important purposes." "We hope our free cleaning services will help these institutions shine outside as well as inside. I'd also like to see other businesses take our lead."

Today in History: Two window washers fell 47 stories from a Manhattan skyscraper when their scaffolding failed; Edgar Moreno was killed, but his brother, Alcides, miraculously survived.