Continental Linen Service Surpasses $500,000 for the American Cancer Society

A Heritage of Integrity and Relationships

For more than 127 years, Continental Linen Services (CLS) has been guided by four core values: caring, commitment, integrity, and relationships.

Founded in Michigan by Ted Vander Meer, CLS was built on dependable service and treating customers like partners. Today, CLS provides commercial linen, uniform rental, floor matting, and facility services to businesses across Michigan. While the industry continues to move quickly, the company’s approach remains rooted in building trust and lasting relationships within the communities it serves.

Honoring a Legacy Through Community Support

That commitment to community recently reached a meaningful milestone. Through the combined efforts of CLS team members, customers, suppliers, and industry partners, more than $517,500 has been raised for the American Cancer Society over the past 11 years.

Cancer touches nearly everyone in some way, whether through a personal diagnosis or the experience of supporting a family member, friend, or coworker. The American Cancer Society helps meet those challenges by funding lifesaving research and providing resources, guidance, and support to patients and families.

For CLS, the mission is also personal. Founder Ted Vander Meer passed away from cancer, and during his illness, the American Cancer Society provided support and guidance to his family. In his memory, CLS created the annual Ted Vander Meer Memorial Golf Classic, bringing together customers, suppliers, and industry partners around a shared cause.

Over the past decade, the event has become a powerful example of what long-standing relationships can accomplish when people come together to give back.

Culture in Action: Picnics with a Purpose

While the annual golf classic brings together customers and industry partners, fundraising also happens throughout CLS branches.

Through internal Picnics with a Purpose, management grills lunch for team members while each branch raises money for the American Cancer Society. Team members purchase chances to dump buckets of slime on managers, send leaders into dunk tanks, and participate in friendly fundraising challenges.

From route sales representatives and production teams to office staff, team members across CLS play a direct role in supporting the cause.

In 2026 alone, the combined efforts of the Ted Vander Meer Memorial Golf Classic and Picnics with a Purpose raised approximately $88,000, bringing the 11-year fundraising total to $517,500.

A Shared Effort

Reaching the half-million-dollar milestone is something CLS shares with everyone who has supported the effort along the way. It represents more than a decade of generosity from team members, customers, vendor partners, volunteers, and friends who continue to contribute year after year.

For CLS, staying true to its roots means more than providing dependable service. It means investing in relationships, supporting the communities it serves, and helping advance the lifesaving mission of the American Cancer Society.