Lapels Dry Cleaning, an environmentally friendly dry-cleaning franchise headquartered in Hanover, Massachusetts, recently opened its heart and Waltham location to help the American Heart Association celebrate national Heart Health in February. Lapels’ specific donation was dry cleaning services for 1,500 red stocking caps knitted by volunteers and distributed to newborns at Boston area hospitals as part of the Little Hats Big Hearts campaign.
Little Hats, Big Hearts is a month-long campaign as part of Heart Health Month that raises awareness for congenital heart defects. Taking place across the nation, little red hats are handed out to newborns at participating hospitals.
“Our wonderful volunteers did such a great job knitting these hats for the newborn babies. We knew we needed a special kind of dry cleaner to clean the hats without damaging some of the delicate needlework,” said Stefani Barba, coordinator of the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign in Massachusetts. “We reached out to Lapels’ location at 1036 Main Street in Waltham and they volunteered their services and did a fantastic job getting the hats ready.”
Lapels has pioneered an eco-friendly dry cleaning experience over the past 18 years. Part of that effort includes a partnership agreement with GreenEarth®, the dry cleaning industry’s only non-toxic cleaning alternative. Using these kinds of solutions and the latest technology in equipment, Lapels is one of the few dry cleaners able to boast that there is no hazardous waste in their process. Consequently, it’s gentler on clothes and you can see, feel and smell the difference.
“We were delighted to help out with the ‘Little Hats, Big Hearts” campaign,” said Kevin Dubois, CEO of Lapels Dry Cleaning. “As a parent, you never take your children’s health for granted. We are more than proud to be asked to volunteer our expertise and services to help the American Heart Association on this great campaign. It’s a great reminder for everyone of the importance of heart health. As the hats correctly imply that starts from the day we are born.”
According to the American Heart Association, which organized the program in connection with the Children’s Heart Foundation, congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect in the country.
For more information about the Little Hats, Big Hearts program, visit heart.org/littlehatsbighearts.