one of which included Italian white truffle, valued at about $4,000 per pound. Next, she answered the door to welcome masseuses who were hired to do massage and reflexology treatments. Since they needed to warm up their hands, Madeline asked Cara if she wouldn’t mind being massaged. Madeline then asked Cara to come upstairs, saying she was getting rid of some clothes, and since they appeared to be the same size, Cara could help herself to whatever she wanted. (What Cara didn’t know was that her sister, Glori, who was also nominated, went with producers on a shopping spree to pick the items out for Cara, so everything was in her size and style.) When the doorbell rang again, Cara was told that the movers were there, and was asked to help unload packages for the evening. As they opened the boxes, Cara was confused because these items were from her home. The delivery man (Greg Benson, the actor who hosts Prank it FWD), read from the order, saying, “These are for the woman who lives here in this house, Ms. Simmons.” Madeline then said, “Yes, Ms. Simmons is my boss.” The delivery man then looked at Cara and said, “Maybe you don’t understand. We actually have some things in the truck that might clear this up.” As they went outside and Greg opened the back of the truck, Cara’s three children (Cierra-Mia, Kiarah and St. Gavin), along with Pictured: Glori Nicholson and Cara Simmons are stunned to find out about Cara’s new home. Mary Jo Dean, Queen Latifah and Cara Simmons on The Queen Latifah set. Glori and her daughter, jumped out of the truck, yelling “Surprise!” Greg then said, “Maybe I should clear this up for you. My name is Greg Benson. I’m an actor and I host a show called Prank it FWD where we do good things for people who deserve some goodness. Glori and Mary Jo decided that you needed a day off to just to relax and enjoy, so that’s what we decided to do today. We didn’t want you to do an ounce of work. But what they don’t know, and what your family doesn’t know, is this is actually your house now. We’ve renovated this house. We rebuilt it, and paid for it, and these are your keys.” When finding out about the house, Mary Jo told us she was in shock, stunned and crying. “I was hoping for a car, which they gave away in a previous episode. I never thought it would be a house!” Cara, too, was in shock, and said, “It took a while for the whole experience to sink in. When I got home and settled down, I began to believe that it was the real deal. Prior to this, I could only dream about owning a home.” After a champagne toast, Greg had another surprise. They were sending Cara and her sister on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Riviera Maya, Mexico. “Mary Jo is not only an awesome boss,” Cara said, “but she’s an awesome person as well, and that’s why I’ve been working at Maid Brite for so long. She motivates everyone around her to be better people, and what she teaches us carries over into our everyday lives. She is always so optimistic about everything, and all I can say is WOW, I want to emulate her.” As a result of this prank, Cara told us that she feels more accountable. “It’s heartfelt that Mary Jo thinks that I am deserving of something so awesome. Now I’m that much more motivated to go out in the world and truly be my best. I owe that to her and I owe it to myself.” After the Prank it FWD episode aired, Cara and Mary Jo were invited to share their story on the Queen Latifah show, where Queen Latifah shared her excite- ary Henderson, Mary Jo’s friend, told us that nominating Cara for ‘Prank it Forward’ was reflective of Mary Jo’s relationship with her employees. She offers benefits that are not only uncommon for a cleaning company, but for any small business. They include: professional development, health insurance, a company matching-retirement plan, an automobile-loan program, and personalized coaching on a variety of issues. Additionally, Mary Jo uses her coaching skills to help her employees on a personal level. She encouraged one employee to continue her education and helped her by teaching studying skills; another by helping him get through the system quicker to collect Social Security benefits after being diagnosed with stage-4 cancer; and many additional About Mary Jo Dean: M employees to get financial-literacy coaching when they participate in the automobile-loan program. Because of these personal relationships and how she treats employees, Mary Jo’s team is extremely loyal and turnover is low. Cara has been with the company for nine years and many customers have been with her for more than 10 years. Mary Jo says, “This loyalty is the result of our equal commitment to employees and customers—it’s what makes us unique!” “I really care about my employees,” Mary Jo said. She then quoted one of her favorite Chinese proverbs, “If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.” To see the complete Prank it FWD and Queen Latifah videos, visit www.maidbrite.org and select news. ment at seeing this prank unfold. She said, “We get excited when we see people who really do well be rewarded for their hard work.” Queen Latifah asked Cara what was going on in her mind when the surprises kept piling up, and Cara responded by saying that nobody would have believed what was going on that day, so she was taking selfies of the food for proof! Then, Queen Latifah announced a “prank back” for Mary Jo, for her kindness for nominating Cara for this prank. “We are going to send you to Mexico. You get to take a break while Cara gets to take a break.” The prank back was a 6-night, 7-day, all expenses-paid vacation to Mexico, courtesy of Delta Vacations. “You keep doing kind things for people,” Queen Latifah said. “It comes back,” Mary Jo responded. “It came back!” Queen Latifah said. Prank it FWD is break.com’s “pranks for good” campaign for charity. The more views, the more that is donated to DoSomething.org. For more information, or if you know someone who deserves a to be featured, visit prankitfwd.com to nominate them. Defy Media partnered with Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland to make this prank come to life. Marge Misak, director of the Land Trust Program at Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland and Barefoot Wine financed the entire project. Additional partners were Chef Manny Slomovits, Evolution Construction and Interior Designer Cindy Hounshell. 8 Beachwood Buzz n February 2015