BEST CLEANERS’ DELIVERS 8,000 WARM EMBRACES TO SALVATION ARMY
Middletown, CT – Best Cleaners wrapped up its 13th annual Coats for Connecticut campaign in December, having collected, cleaned and delivered over 8,000 donated coats to The Salvation Army and other local area shelters. The family-owned dry cleaning and tailoring business kicked off the community effort a week earlier than previous years and with an increased focus on getting as many donated coats as possible out to struggling families before the first freeze. The general public was urged to gather up coats that were in good condition but no longer worn and drop them off at any one of Best’s 14 locations from November 4 through November 12. All donated coats were cleaned for free by Best and delivered to centralized Salvation Army drop sites where volunteers sorted the coats for distribution directly to those in need throughout the state.
The total value of this year’s coat donations and cleaning services is estimated to be more than $345,000. Since the campaign’s inception in 2008, more than 137,000 coats have now been collected, cleaned and delivered. The success of the campaign can be attributed to the overwhelming support of the community at large and from Best’s campaign partners. Coats were collected and cleaned at each of Best’s locations in Berlin, Bristol, Canton, Farmington, Glastonbury, Middletown, North Haven, Old Lyme, Plainville, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Windsor, and the newly opened West Hartford location on Sedgwick Road. Cleaned donations were then delivered each week to central Salvation Army drop locations, including a vacant storefront donated by The Meriden Mall, where volunteers safely sorted the coats and prepared them for distribution to individuals and families in Bridgeport, Bristol, Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, New London and Waterbury. Two Men and A Truck donated the use of two storage containers for staging and storing the cleaned coats before each delivery while Eyewitness News WFSB-TV3 promoted the campaign through public service announcements and local news programming, and Young’s Printing/Fast Signs donated printing services for campaign posters, signage, and other materials.
“This year, given that we are all still feeling the impact of the pandemic, we are truly, truly grateful for all those who stepped up and donated coats, for our campaign partners’ ongoing support, and for our extraordinary staff that put in the extra effort to get all those coats cleaned and delivered during one of our busiest times of year,” commented Best President Shawn McCann. More information can be found at bestcleaners.com or by calling 1-888-950-BEST.