The Missouri Rental Dealers Association (MRDA) held its annual Give Back event at the close of 2024, contributing to nonprofit organizations in four different cities statewide with both volunteer hours and financial donations.
MRDA President John Cleek, Jr. – who is also President of APRO Member Cleek’s Home Furnishings/Rentals & Sales – began MRDA’s community service projects almost a decade ago; the MRDA Board of Directors eventually decided to take the initiative statewide.
“My Dad, the late, “Tiger” John Cleek, was one of the co-founders of MRDA back in 1987 and really set the foundation for our association along with some other great leaders,” Cleek said. “I’ve served as MRDA President for about a dozen years, and started the service projects. I’m thankful we’ve had such great participation with our Board Members and their teams. Everyone looks forward to these projects each year – they’re fun and make such a positive impact on our communities.”
The chairperson for each participating Missouri city schedules the date of their service project, as well as the organization it will benefit. In addition to MRDA member-company employees volunteering two hours of their time, every nonprofit receives a $1,000 donation from MRDA.
In 2024, the MRDA sponsored community projects in Columbia, Farmington, Springfield, and St. Louis, Missouri – with plans for another project in Kansas City early this year.
Columbia, Missouri
In Columbia, Missouri, Cleek led his team to volunteer at The Food Bank Market, an initiative of The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. At the market – which is set up like a typical grocery store – people in need may come to shop once a month, according to household size and available items. Groceries are offered at no cost, and volunteers help bag groceries and answer any questions.
The Cleek’s team bagged groceries, greeted people as they entered, handed out turkeys, and sacked up Buddy Packs.
“Inevitably, we’re helping out people who are our customers,” said Cleek. “And it offers us the opportunity to meet team members from other companies, as we join together for the common good.”
“It just made me feel so good to be able to hand food to someone in need and see the look on their face,” said Cleek’s General Manager Darryl Darling. “This was a priceless experience, one person helping another – it just doesn’t get better than that.”
Farmington, Missouri
In Farmington, Missouri, Division Manager Mike Skehan of Buddy Mac Holdings LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings and his team presented their $1,000 MRDA check to the Help the Hungry Bake Sale.
The bake sale is a benefit for Farmington’s two food pantries, at the Ministerial Alliance and St. Vincent De Paul. The event features fresh-baked breads, cakes, candies, pastries, pies, and pet treats, and also features both live and silent auctions, as well as a popular Cookin’ Clergy Contest.
“We chose the bake sale because it serves an area that reaches a lot of people in need, where the median annual income is only about $25,000,” Skehan said. “The volunteers who assemble for the event have so much love in their hearts and are great community servants. It’s important for us to give back to our community because its residents are our customers who allow us to thrive.”
Springfield, Missouri
Two companies participated in Springfield, Missouri – All American Rental Inc. and National TV Sales & Rental. Led by All American Chief Operating Officer Macy Mitchell and National TV Owner Kathy Windsor, RTO teams volunteered for Convoy of Hope, a faith-based organization working to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreach, and disaster response.
Volunteers filled up bags and boxes of pasta, then wrapped them onto pallets to ship to disaster-relief areas worldwide. In just two hours, the teams readied more than 2,500 two-pound containers of pasta.
“Convoy of Hope, in addition to its global efforts, is extremely active in our local community, and provides many other local nonprofits with food for people in need,” said Mitchell. “Our reason for participating is as simple as the Golden Rule – treat others the way you want to be treated. Additionally, when people are served, they feel led to pay it forward, which makes the world a better place to be.”
St. Louis, Missouri
In St. Louis, Matt Pinkerton – Regional Director for SKC Enterprises Inc. dba Rent One – led a team of RTO volunteers to help the St. Louis Area Foodbank, which partners with more than 600 hunger-relief programs and local agencies to respond to hunger in 26 counties of Missouri and Illinois.
Participants sorted food items collected for the Foodbank by the Boy Scouts, preparing the food for distribution throughout the bi-state area.
“This kind of giving back is part of our DNA at Rent One,” Pinkerton said. “(Owners) Larry and Sharon Carrico began the Great Expectations Foundation in 2011, which contributes to many charities in the communities we serve.”
“MRDA has always aimed to be a leader in not just advocacy for the Rent to Own industry, but to lead in service to others and our communities,” said Macy Mitchell. “Our annual action plan is to always be more active and effective with our programs and events than the year before and to entrench ourselves locally to stay top of mind to our customers and communities, so our industry stays more relevant than ever.”
“I’d like to challenge and encourage all state associations to organize community service projects in their state,” concluded Cleek. “Find what your state is passionate about – whether it’s food banks, young people, scouts, domestic-abuse survivors, veterans, Special Olympics, or whatever – and put 100 percent effort and resources into it. You’ll see and feel the wonderful difference you can make, and your community will see what rent-to-own is really made of.”
