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Local Yuma Native Gives Back

Lapels owner Melody Dunn helps regional medical center with free mask cleaning

HANOVER, Mass. — “The impact of the COVID-19 crisis has hit many small businesses hard,” writes Lapels. As the owner of Lapels Dry Cleaning of Yuma, located at 2595 S. 4th Ave in Yuma, Ariz., Melody Dunn is one those small businesses.

Yet her response to the current crisis has been to help out those on the front lines, cleaning masks for nurses from the Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) for free, it notes.

Dunn, a Yuma native, who had just opened her drycleaning plant and store in late 2019, jumped at the chance to help the local hospital and offered free mask cleaning for the Yuma Regional Medical Center, it relates.

“One of the many reasons I bought a Lapels Dry Cleaning franchise was to come back to my hometown and be a part of the local community,” says Dunn, a former country music singer and broadcast reporter.

“One thing about being a part of a community is helping out in difficult times. This pandemic certainly qualifies as that and we’re happy to do what we can.”

In addition to cleaning masks from Yuma Regional Medical Center, Lapels Dry Cleaning of Yuma has offered to clean nurses’ scrubs at a discounted rate, it adds. With its free pickup and delivery service, the discounted rate makes it even more convenient.

“We’re extremely grateful to Melody and the staff at Lapels Dry Cleaning of Yuma for offering these services,” says Machele Headington, vice president marketing and communications at Yuma Regional Medical Center.

“We appreciate that our local Lapels team have truly gone above and beyond to support our YRMC caregivers. Lapels is washing and delivering masks that have been hand sewn by our community. A true example of community support,” she says.

“It’s also a comfort to know masks and scrubs have been cleaned in a professional and environmentally friendly way,” adds Headington.

Lapels dry cleaning process features environmentally friendly GreenEarth®, the drycleaning industry’s only non-toxic cleaning alternative. GreenEarth drycleaning solvent has the highest flash point of any of the alternative solvents (170 F) on the market, the firm notes.

The GreenEarth dry cleaning process allows clothes to be dried at the highest drying temperature, 158 F, which is equivalent to 70 C. Lapels Dry Cleaning’s wetcleaning services clean clothes at temperatures exceeding the recommended 160 F to kill virus germs, it adds.

“In addition to cleaning with GreenEarth and in higher temperatures to eliminate viruses,” Lapels says it uses, “the world’s only 100 percent environmentally non-toxic drycleaning process along with 100 percent wet cleaning that offers a sustainable and hypo allergenic process.”

Since a trip to the dry cleaner might not be in line with your social distancing, Lapels Dry Cleaning of Yuma relates, it also offers free pickup and delivery. The company also offers a “car hop” service, it notes, where customers can drop off and pickup their clothing without ever leaving their cars.

Local Yuma Native Gives Back

Nurses from the Yuma Regional Medical Center model their freshly cleaned masks. During the COVID-19 crisis, Lapels Dry Cleaning of Yuma, located at 2595 S. 4th Ave Yuma, relates that it has been cleaning masks for nurses from the Yuma Regional Medical Center for free. (Photo by Lapels Dry Cleaning)

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].