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Kathleen Billingsley

St. Croix Cleaners donates unwanted and used coats for families in need of professional looking attire, in order to re-enter the workforce. "Its important to the families who need them, in order for them to look good for when they have an interview or something they should look professional for," said employee Emilee Falch.

Holiday cheer was spread early this year by Stillwater’s St. Croix Cleaners.

For the first two weeks in the month of November, St. Croix Cleaners collected used and unwanted coats and business jackets from their customers for their charitable event, Coats For Cause. Collaborating with Dress for Success, they donated the unwanted coats to people who needed them, and gave them the opportunity to look professional for a job or special event.

“We communicated with our customers that were collecting gently used, professional coats, for women and men. These are used at Dress For Success, that accepts the donated clothes and makes appointments for underprivileged people trying to reenter the workforce,” co-owner, Polly Nemec said.

Possibly hundreds of individuals could be helped from this cause. Little did the customers know how much of an impact they could have on their community. Clothes that were shoved in the corners of their closets, actually had good use to them, and St. Croix Cleaners brought attention to that. The work from St. Croix Cleaners and their customers greatly benefited those in need. Partnering with their customers to help out the families around them, sends out a strong message that this business cares about their community and that their customers can do so much for someone with very little.

“We like to be involved with the community in whatever ways we can. What we find is that a drive like this really works well, our customers this time of year are really going through their closets and determining whether they want these coats for next year, and many of them want to be engaged within the community,” Nemec commented.

Being a local business, it is important to have close relations with the community. St. Croix Cleaners sees the impact they are having, and its importance on everyone involved.

“This is important to the individual receiving the coats. Coats can be really expensive, especially professional ones, and they don’t have the means to buy these. They need to present themselves professional at any job interview,” Nemec added.

Creating a helping and close community is great for the town of Stillwater and St.Croix Cleaners. Being able to work together with their customers to help those in need, is good for their business and the families they are helping. Just a small contribution from the customers goes a long way.

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“I think this [Coats for Cause] will show that the community wants to work together, build each other up, kind of be a unit,” employee Clara Lystrom said.

Events like this are really what ties everyone together. Many individuals will feel prepared and ready for what lies ahead for them. Everyone should be able to feel that way when it comes to contributing to society. When others can help someone out, it truly means a lot. Not only is someone blessed with a new coat, but another receives the gratitude of helping out in their community, and getting rid of unwanted items. Other businesses and individuals can learn from St. Croix Cleaners generosity, and can start charitable events of their own.

“Hopefully it [Coats for Cause] demonstrates that we’re willing to help out the community and put back into the community. Also hopefully allow underprivileged people to get an opportunity to better themselves. This is just one way we can easily do that,” co-owner Dave Nemec said.