National Clothesline

Looking for something that their Hong Kong Cleaners could do for the community of York, PA, Vince Mak and his wife, Allison, decided to try something new — so new, in fact, that nobody in York had heard of it before.

After several months of planning, they launched their first clothing swap by inviting customers and friends to donate garments. Each donation brought a voucher that could be used to claim a garment on swap day. Hong Kong Cleaners cleaned, pressed, sorted and arranged all the garments in preparation for the swap.

“In this tough economy, we decided this was a great way for people to ‘renew’ their wardrobes without spending any money,” said Vince Mak.

More than 1,200 pieces of clothing, along with jewelry, handbags and shoes, were brought in. One customer brought 150 items that appeared to be new and never worn, Mak said. Other local businesses got involved, too, providing $700 in gift certificates to enliven the swap day activities. Area churches were advised of the swap and offered vouchers that could be given to people in need.

Swap Day came on June 20. People with vouchers could pick out newer duds from the racks, grab a piece of cake and take home a goody bag with prizes donated by other businesses. At the end of the day, all donated garments that went unclaimed were donated to the Salvation Army.

“We consider the swap a huge success for everyone involved and the recipients of the donated clothing,” Mak said. “We are already working on making this wonderful event an annual way of giving back to our community.”




						From cleaning plant to clothing store








							Looking for something that their Hong Kong Cleaners could do for the community of York, PA, Vince Mak and his wife, Allison, decided to try something new — so new, in fact, that nobody in York had heard of it before. After several months of planning, they launched their first clothing swap by inviting customers and friends to donate garments. Each donation brought a voucher that could be used to claim a garment on swap day. Hong Kong Cleaners cleaned, pressed, sorted and arranged all the garments in preparation for the swap. “In this tough economy, we decided this was a great way for people to ‘renew’ their wardrobes without spending any money,” said Vince Mak. More than 1,200 pieces of clothing, along with jewelry, handbags and shoes, were brought in. One customer brought 150 items that appeared to be new and never worn, Mak said. Other local businesses got involved, too, providing $700 in gift certificates to enliven the swap day activities. Area churches were advised of the swap and offered vouchers that could be given to people in need. Swap Day came on June 20. People with vouchers could pick out newer duds from the racks, grab a piece of cake and take home a goody bag with prizes donated by other businesses. At the end of the day, all donated garments that went unclaimed were donated to the Salvation Army. “We consider the swap a huge success for everyone involved and the recipients of the donated clothing,” Mak said. “We are already working on making this wonderful event an annual way of giving back to our community.”