MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Best Cleaners recently finished its 12th annual Coats for Connecticut drive, collecting, cleaning and delivering more than 11,000 coats to the Salvation Army and other area shelters. The total value of the coat donations and cleaning services is estimated to be more than $600,000.
“Given the challenges of operating during the pandemic, our decision to move forward with this year’s campaign was not made lightly,” says Shawn McCann, owner and president of Best Cleaners. “But we knew the need would be greater than ever before, and we knew we could count on our customers and campaign partners to make it happen.”
Starting on Nov. 11, the drive engaged the public along with local businesses and community groups to gather gently used coats and jackets to Best Cleaner locations. The company then cleaned and delivered the garments to the Salvation Army for distribution.
The family-owned drycleaning company had assistance from several companies to make the event a success in 2020. This includes the Meriden Mall, which donated the use of vacant storefront space for the Salvation Army to sort and prepare the coats for distribution, and Two Men and A Truck, which donated the use of two storage containers for staging and storing the cleaned coats before delivery. Young’s Printing/Fast Signs donated printing services for campaign posters, signage, and other materials, and WFSB-TV3 promoted the campaign in its programming.
The family-owned dry cleaning and tailoring business has 13 locations and has gathered more than 128,000 over the course of the campaign, providing warm clothing for Connecticut individuals and families in Bridgeport, Bristol, Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, New London and Waterbury.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].