Dun-Rite Cleaners of NC kicks off 18th year of Coats for Kids
It looks to be another harsh winter. If the cold temperatures don’t chill you to the bone, then the economy just might.
Fortunately, many local residents of need in Albemarle and Locust, NC, will
still be able to get a free coat to keep them warm in the coming months.
On Nov. 1, Dun-Rite Cleaners began its annual Coats for Kids drive, a tradition
that is now in its 18th year with the drycleaning business.
According to owner and operator Mark Dry, the fourth-generation family business
has collected, cleaned and distributed more than 45,000 garments since its
inception.
“We enjoy doing it,” he said. “We’ve already probably received several thousand this year. We have to limit the
time that we do it or we just get inundated.”
This year, the drive was concluded on Nov. 22, which gave ample time for the
cleaners to gather enough coats to cover everybody in the area — and even beyond — who needs one yet can’t afford it.
Sometimes Dun-Rite even ends up with leftover items, but they always find a
place for them.
“When Katrina hit Louisiana, we sent 550 lightweight jackets to that area,” Dry recalled. “Also, we covered the eastern part of North Carolina when we had the floods down
there. We’ve gone to the Appalachian Mountains, sent hundreds of coats up there. Once our
needs our met locally, then we make sure all of the coats get somewhere.”
Even in tough times, the community does not hesitate to chip in for the cause.
There certainly has not been a drop off this year.
“Everybody knows there’s a great need,” Dry explained. “We’ve got people who don’t even have kids, or coats, or spouses — a lot of widow ladies are bringing in fine, new coats, brand new ones with the
bags still on them, because they know the need is here in Stanley County.”
Dun-Rite works with local schools and other non-profit organizations to make
Coats for Kids successful. However, things ran differently at the start.
Dry said the idea to start collecting coats came during a North Carolina
Association of Launderers and Cleaners meeting when the notion of giving back
to the community was discussed.
Coats for Kids was a good fit for Dun-Rite, which was originally started in 1922
by Dry’s great-grandfather, F.O.
Over the years, the company had become a large commercial drycleaner and laundry
featuring lots of extra space and cleaning equipment.
“We decided that the way we were set up, we could handle the volume,” Dry noted. “It was no problem because we were used to handling fire restoration. We’ve got 300 to 400 lb washers. Our facility is massive. We’ve got plenty of room to do the coats.”
During the first year, Dun-Rite set up its own distribution center for
collecting the garments.
“We leased a building and staffed it with volunteers and put racks in there,” Dry said. “Once we cleaned them, we put them on those racks and our volunteers would assist
the folks in getting their coats. We did that for several years. We found that
it was better if we went through the local school systems to give coats because
you had people coming in who really didn’t need coats though they went though a process to get one.”
These days, the process is a bit more organized and high-tech.
“All of the guidance counselors in a couple of counties e-mail us and let us know
what they need,” he added.
