JABBS Memorial Cleaning

Abandoned, understaffed, and cemeteries with aging groundskeepers are prevalent in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In September of 2020, after an exhaustive search for someone to clean my own father’s headstone, I realized that there was a need to be met in our area. I began cleaning commissioned headstones under our family business, JABBS Softwashing, throughout our area. As I walked through these cemeteries, I began to take notice of the hundreds of military headstones sprawling out along the hillsides before me, stained with time and covered in lichen. Some were seemingly long forgotten soldiers of the Revolutionary War, their memories lost in history.

My family has always had great respect and admiration for the sacrifices that the members of our military have made - and continue to make - for us, so I wanted to give them my thanks. I took to our Facebook page and began searching for the remaining family members of a few of the veterans who were laid to rest in the Laceyville Street Cemetery in Laceyville, PA. Our post went viral, with thousands of comments and shares, and we managed to get permission from each of their families to clean their stones.

Since then, we have cleaned hundreds of military stones for free, as part of our JABBS Veteran Headstone & Monument Cleaning Volunteer Mission. Funding for our volunteer mission has come from commissioned civilian headstone cleanings, as well as from our own pockets. So many people have been asking about how they can help us with our mission, so we have recently created an Amazon Wishlist to help us purchase decorations, a small token of appreciation, on each of the stones we clean. We have received hundreds of red, white & blue stars, carnations, and more, and we couldn’t be more grateful for all of the support.

Our gentle process doesn't blast away debris with high pressure water, chemicals that will deteriorate stones, or harsh wire brushes. Our formula gently kills microflora and removes stains from the stones, while our soft-bristled detailing brushes won't scrape and scratch the faces of these historical stones. We have cleaned hundreds stones in NEPA to date, some dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War, so being mindful of our cleaning process is of the utmost priority.

There are still so many military stones that need to be cleaned, with hundreds of gallons of our professional solution that needs to be purchased. We are looking for a boost from anyone who wants to help support our mission so we can buy more solution and continue to clean the stones.

We are grateful for every dollar donated, and you can be confident that your donation will be used for its intended purpose since you will be able to see every penny being put to work on JABBS Softwashing’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Jabbssoftcleaning

I would like to thank everyone and Limeworks.us for the support and helping me continue my mission.