Rochdale mum pledges to donate free hours of cleaning to elderly and feed homeless with new business Kav's Kleans

A Rochdale mum will donate extra free hours of cleaning to the elderly and meals to the homeless through her new cleaning business.

Claire Taylor, of Castleton, started Kav’s Kleans in January 2022 in memory of her son, Kavana, 21, who was killed in a collision four years ago.

Kavana died in April 2018 when the BMW he was driving collided with another car on Manchester Road in Castleton. An inquest ruled Kavana had consumed “a large amount of alcohol” as well as cocaine which “more than minimally detrimentally affected his ability to control his vehicle.”

Claire, who has three other children, Lola, Rudi and Seven, said: “I just want to give back to the community because people were so good to us when we lost Kav.

“We’ll never know what happened that night because he never drank and it was rare he went out. It was so out of character for him. I couldn’t say goodbye or identify him, and this is the only way I can deal with his death. I do it because it keeps me going.”

Now with her business, Claire has pledged to donate a meal to the vulnerable or homeless, as well as donate an hour of free cleaning to the elderly for each new customer at her discretion. Together, Claire and her daughter provide end of tenancy cleaning, deep cleans, and general cleans, working in collaboration with Oldham charity Greengate Trust, a partner with Peace Train, a US charity started by singer Cat Stevens.

She said: “We are linked to a charity that serves local vulnerable people, so for every clean we get, we will donate a meal to one homeless or vulnerable person.

“I’ll travel anywhere; I’ve been to Manchester, Huddersfield. It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, rich or poor; the pandemic has affected so many people, and I like meeting people. It’s not about being judgemental; when Kav died people were very judgemental before they knew the facts.

“Kavana was a breath of fresh air. He helped everyone and it shows now: so many people stop me in the street who knew Kav. I have to keep his memory alive. I’d love to have a youth club; I do tell the kids [on the streets] to go to Kav’s Corner [the memorial area at the site of the crash] rather than hanging around doorways and shops.”

 

 

Claire continued: “My overall goal is to have a cleaning business, take on people who are homeless and get commercial cleans, and just give them a chance.

“A lot of it is stigma and people can be quite ignorant but when you strip it back and speak to people, a lot of them have turned to drink and drugs because they are on the street.”

Claire also runs a popular Facebook group dedicated to helping those in need, Kav’s Corner, which aims to help people from all walks of life.

“Not everyone wants help though but you can’t please everyone. My kids do it too because of the way they’ve been brought up; it’s second nature to them. Rudi gave his gloves to a man at Asda recently.

“It’s very often people with nothing who are the ones who give, but I can’t let Kavana’s death be in vain.”

Kav’s Kleans can be found on Facebook, as can Kav’s Corner.