Lapels Dry Cleaning stores hold clothing drive to benefit the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation and Big Sisters of Rhode Island

DATELINE: HANOVER, MA…Bag upon bag of donated clothing has been collected and counted and now it’s official… Lapels Dry Cleaning Dry Cleaning stores collected over TWO TONS of clothing during the annual Lapels Clothing Drive to benefit the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation and Big Sisters of Rhode Island.  

For two weeks in May, patrons of all of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Lapels Dry Cleaning stores heeded the effort to clean out their closets, including the Lapels Dry Cleaning stores in: Abington, Bedford, Beverly, Boston-Charles River Park, Brighton, Concord, Dedham, Easton, Framingham, Halifax, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Randolph, Salem, Sudbury, Walpole, Westford, and Westwood, and Lincoln, RI. Overall, Lapels Dry Cleaning stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island collected over 200 bags, totaling approximately 4,000 pounds of clothing.

Lapels Dry Cleaning franchisee Fred Siegel, who owns and operates the Hanover, MA Lapels Dry Cleaning store, was enthusiastic about participating in the clothing drive that is now in its fifth year. Notes Siegel, “Our bi-annual Lapels Dry Cleaning clothing drive offers our customers a win-win situation — they can conveniently drop off their unwanted clothing items and give a boost to a worthy organization, the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation.”

Ken Higgins of the Big Brother Big Sister Foundation of Boston, remarked on the success of the Lapels Dry Cleaning clothing drive, “In five short years, the Lapels Dry Cleaning clothing drive has grown from a fledging effort to become a solid source of support. We offer our congratulations and thank you to Lapels Dry Cleaning and salute their ongoing efforts on behalf of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation.”

The Lincoln Rhode Island Lapels Dry Cleaning store also collected clothing donations that benefitted the Big Sisters of Rhode Island. Spokesperson for the Big Sisters of Rhode Island in Cranston, Kaurie McDermott, also thanked Lapels Dry Cleaning, saying, “On behalf of the Big Sisters of Rhode Island I would like to thank Lapels Dry Cleaning for continuing to sponsor this drive, which provides their customers with the opportunity to “go green” and help the environment, while also helping young at-risk girls. The continued support of Lapels Dry Cleaning is greatly appreciated, particularly in these uncertain economic times.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters picks up the gently used clothing collected by Lapels Dry Cleaning stores and distributes it to consignment shops. The net profits from the sales of these items are distributed back to Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies, supporting their mission to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships. The Big Sisters of Rhode Island picks up the gently used clothing collected by the Lincoln, RI Lapels Dry Cleaning store and those items are sold directly to our partner, Savers.  The proceeds from these items support our mentoring programs for girls at-risk, between the ages of 4 and 18.

As a former big brother, Lapels Dry Cleaning CEO Lawrence Friedman knows firsthand the impact the Big Brother Big Sister program can have, “It’s an absolutely amazing experience to watch the progress of children involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. We would like to thank all of the Lapels Dry Cleaning customers and franchisees who so generously support our clothing drives – they really do make a difference.”

About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters serves over 200,000 children, ages 6 through 18, in 5,000 communities across all 50 states, establishing successful mentoring relationships for all children who need and want them, contributing to better schools, brighter futures, and stronger communities for all. Big Brothers Big Sisters one-to-one mentoring makes a huge difference for the youth it serves by helping at-risk youth overcome the many challenges they face.

Lapels Dry Cleaning Community Commitment
Being a good neighbor isn’t just a slogan at Lapels Dry Cleaning, where community involvement is a tradition. Lapels Dry Cleaning proudly partners with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation of Boston, Big Sisters of Rhode Island, and the American Red Cross.

A Rising Star
The New England Franchise Association ranks Lapels Dry Cleaning as one of the Top 10 fastest growing franchises in New England. In addition, the Lapels Dry Cleaning Franchise Program has made the ranking for the Top 30 Franchise Organizations based in New England.

Lapels Dry Cleaning has also been ranked in Entrepreneur’s 26th Annual “Franchise 500” as well as Entrepreneur’s “Top 50 New Franchises,” identifying Lapels Dry Cleaning as one of today’s top franchise opportunities. Entrepreneur's “Franchise 500” is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation.

Store Locations
Lapels Dry Cleaning has stores in Massachusetts (Abington, Bedford, Beverly, Boston, Brighton, Concord, Dedham, Easton, Framingham, Halifax, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Randolph, Salem, Sudbury, Walpole, Westford, and Westwood); Rhode Island (Lincoln); California (Pomona and Poway); Florida (Orlando); Georgia (Duluth); Idaho (Boise); New Hampshire (Hooksett); South Carolina (Carolina Forest and Myrtle Beach); Texas (Arlington, Garland, Granbury, Murphy, and Plano); Washington (Kirkland and Seattle).  Coming soon to Destin, FL; Wilmington, MA; Edmond, OK and Bloomsburg, PA.

Lapels Dry Cleaning – Environmentally Friendly Cleaners
A full slate of services are offered at each Lapels Dry Cleaning store, including: same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; shoe repair; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage.

Lapels Dry Cleaning corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339.  To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email admin@lapelsdrycleaning.com. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company’s Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.