Charitable Activities

When You Choose Jericho,
You’re Also Choosing To Make A Difference.

Supporting These Awesome Charities Has Become Part Of Who We Are

A Message From Owners John Bartrom, Owner

When I started Jericho Home Improvements, I decided to make giving a core principle of our business. Giving back is a belief that is engrained into the heart of Jericho, and is something we live and breathe every day. We believe who we give to is just as important as giving itself. We believe in giving to organizations that are scalable and represent our values. For instance, in 3rd world countries organizations that provide food for the poor are doing much needed work. But ones that go the extra step of teaching them how to provide food for themselves (through farming, fishing, entrepreneurship, etc) are even more effective. The first approach is good. The second is scalable. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” Below are the organizations that live by this approach and that we support.

Jericho's charitable activities

Global Orphan Project

We discovered Global Orphan Project after meeting and talking to Mike Fox, who along with his wife founded the organization. Mike was a very successful businessman who sold his business and launched this non-profit. His passion for the abandoned and orphaned children overwhelmed and inspired us.

Astonishing Facts About Global Orphan Project

  • The Global Orphan Project’s Founders’ Circle, led by Mike and Beth, personally covers ALL the administrative costs of the organization. This means that every donor dollar given to the care of children goes to directly to the care of children. GO Project calls this their 100% Commitment.
  • The Global Orphan Project, through Mike’s leadership, runs like a successful business. The bureaucracy and inefficiencies that plague so many non-profits have been eliminated.
  • This organization is about much more than handouts to children. GO Project helps leaders in places like Haiti launch and operate viable businesses. These businesses not only create jobs so that parents can provide for their own children, but they also serve as training opportunities and potential career paths for older orphaned and abandoned children as they age out of care. Many of these young adults are now supporting themselves and giving back to others. (And by the way, Jericho Home Improvement uniforms/shirts are purchased from one of these businesses!).

Warning: Helping Global Orphan Project Is Addicting

When we saw how much good was being done, we quickly decided to make The Global Orphan Project our number one cause. But we felt called to do more. We asked Global Orphan Project for a list of their programs with an eye toward providing extra support for something special. After receiving the list, we reflected and prayed and decided to support two programs.

The Mama Project

One of the essential lynchpins of Global Orphan Project is the position of “Mama” to these orphans. The Mama is the person who makes the kids meals, helps with homework, provides emotional support to these kids, and keeps things running on a day-to-day basis. There is one Mama for every 10 children.

But this program isn’t without cost. A stipend needs to be paid to each mama and there are costs for training. We decided that we wanted to fund the entire Mama Project as our special calling. There are 39 Mamas as of now, and we are proud to say we support every one of them fully.

Education For Everyone

The other program we support in a special way is opening schools for all the kids in every village Global Orphan Project serves. This is to help eliminate an unintended consequence of helping orphans. Parents whose children were not receiving an education were in some cases abandoning their children because they knew that then their children could get an education as an orphan that they otherwise wouldn’t.

When we learned about this, we decided to commit to funding schools in the villages that would be open to ALL. We fully fund schools in 4 villages, educating 1,200 kids.

We encourage you to discover more about this incredible organization and their life-changing accomplishments. Maybe you’ll feel called to help them, too

Jericho has been named a Corporate Champion by the Global Orphan Project, which means they have recognized us as one of the major and influential donors. 

Living Water International

Did you know that at least 663 million people in the world don’t have ready access to safe water? That’s 1 of every 9 people on the planet.

That’s terrible and there is a lot of work to be done to solve that problem. The good news is that there are organizations making a serious difference, and one in particular stands out: Living Water International. In fact, they’ve completed 16,000+ safe water projects and counting.

We love what Living Water International does because it has such a fundamental, direct impact on improving lives. Ready access to safe water eliminates the need to walk miles and miles, it improves hygiene, and gives hope. The real bottom line is it saves lives.

Living Water International is a charity we carefully screened before becoming a large donor. They run with the efficiency of a business and make sure that the maximum amount possible goes to directly helping the people that need it the most.

We’ve been so impressed with the effectiveness that we are one of their biggest donors. If you would like to know more (and maybe even donate yourself), we encourage you to explore the Living Water International website and learn more about their mission.

Kansas City’s Biggest Donor To Habitat For Humanity

Habitat For Humanity believes everyone should have a safe, affordable place to live. We agree.

This organization builds, renovates, and repairs homes all over the globe using volunteer labor and donations, including the local chapter right here in Kansas City. One of the unique features of Habitat for Humanity is that it is not a giveaway program. Habitat owners must put in their own “sweat equity” by working on the project themselves, as well as paying an affordable monthly mortgage payment.

We’re proud to say that we are the biggest donor to Kansas City’s local chapter of Habitat For Humanity. We donate products, materials, time, and talent. If you’d like to discover more and maybe even lend a hand yourself, visit the Kansas City Habitat For Humanity website.

We’d like to thank our wonderful customers who have helped us grow into the largest independent kitchen and bath remodeling company in the nation. Our growth has allowed us to give more and more to these remarkable charities!