The Ulster County Immigrant Defense Network (UIDN) has rolled out their new immigrant woman owned and led co-op cleaning service called the Blooming Queens of Clean. The concept had been developing since March, combining the visions of 15 women with extensive help from members of the UIDN, including its vice president, Patty Grossman, and its program development director, Stephanie Kristal.

A co-op, they said, is the perfect way for the network to help immigrants create jobs for themselves. The women raised money for the co-op’s startup costs.

Historically, a co-op, or a cooperative, is a business model that allows individuals to meet a common goal through their collectively owned enterprise, resulting in each member acting as a shareholder in the company. In this case, with each woman owning a piece of the business, they are given the freedom to build their company the way they see fit, with the help of the UIDN to guide them in the right direction.

This, according to the UIDN, not only “empowers the women and sets them on a path to economic mobility,” but also “helps workers avoid the exploitation that so often accompanies off-the-books jobs.” Grossman told Kingston Wire that co-ops are “a growing movement as an economic model, especially for immigrants.”

The UIDN, founded in 2017 by leaders of Kingston’s religious community and other community members, assists newcomers to Kingston and Ulster County in numerous ways, including food pantries, offering career advice and helping them to acclimate to life in the area. Their goal, according to Grossman, is to help these people be “self-sustaining” through the training and support they provide.

The women have received assistance from Tamika Dunkley, a business consultant from the Town of Ulster-based Seasoned Gives. Dunkley has been the co-op’s principal trainer and mentor. She helped them create their LLC and with the essential paperwork needed to get their business running.

The women are from many Central and South American countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador and Belize. Grossman said some of the women have been living here for less than a year and some for more than 15 years. Most of the women are in their 30s, while many are younger and most are mothers.

Kingston Wire also had the pleasure of speaking with Marta Sub, a member of the co-op from Belize who is also their designated translator. Sub doesn’t only speak English along with Spanish, but she speaks called Q’eqchi’, an indigenous language common in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, along with Creole. Being one of the only English speakers in the group, her assistance has been pivotal for the business, since she is in charge of responding to emails and communicating with clients.

The UIDN have been helping to provide the rest of the woman with English language lessons to enable them to learn this essential skill so they can take over more responsibility at the company. “They understand English, they just need a push and extra practice,” Sub said.

Right now, the business has been launched and within the last couple of weeks they have started receiving inquiries through their website for cleaning jobs. The women are only serving customers in Ulster County, since many are without cars. They welcome donations toward buying cars, which can be sent to the UIDN. They offer professional-grade cleaning of homes and offices using non-toxic cleaning supplies, which is considered “green cleaning.”

This, according to Sub, was one of the reasons she wanted to join the team, “They have so much love and care, not only between them and their future, but they want to take care of the Earth for younger generations.”

With a fully functional website and requests flooding their inbox, the Blooming Queens are headed towards success. Sub offered encouraging words for where she sees the Queens going: “I see a great future for us, and with the help of the UIDN I see not only this, but a group of great future entrepreneurs.”

To inquire more about the Blooming Queens’ services and book a cleaning, email them at info@bloomingqueensofclean.com or check out their website: https://www.bloomingqueensofclean.com/