In May, the leaders at Dress for Success Denver reached out to Spiffy with a significant problem. They were unable to accept clothing donations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept them from carrying out the crucial mission of their organization: providing at-risk women with job readiness tools, professional attire, and post employment support. That mission is even more essential as the economic fallout from the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women compared to men.
Typically, they hold donation drives once a month, which average over 10,000 pieces of clothing from 100-150 individual donors. But after three months without a drive, they were expecting two double, if not triple, those numbers. After considering a number of options, such as a 3-day quarantine for each item and covering themselves in protective plastic, it was clear to their team that an alternate solution was necessary. Enter Spiffy disinfection services and our new Dress for Success partnership!
“We were concerned that if we bring the items to our bodies, now we've covered ourselves in whatever germs or dust or dog hair, whatever could be there. And so we were concerned about our sinuses, allergies and just the germs in general. So we came up with the idea to cover ourselves in plastic.” said Kimberly Edwards, Boutique Manager for Dress for Success Denver. “By having this partnership with Spiffy, we're able to alleviate some of the ideas that we came up with to protect ourselves. Now we're able to spray the items down and within 10 to 15 minutes, they're ready to move to the next stage, versus two to three days of quarantine.”
To avoid potentially damaging any donated items, members of our Denver team performed a product test on a variety of fabrics, including silk and suede. The leaders at Dress for Success Denver were thrilled by the demonstration, which set their volunteers and our technicians up for an exciting first day of donations on June 8th.
“I have been so excited about the first donation day in three months that I was unable to sleep this weekend very well just because I was so darn excited. To me this is the first step in making sure that we have the things that our ladies need: the donations.” said Gloria Padilla, Director of Workforce Development for Dress for Success Denver.
The end result was one of the organization’s most successful donation drives yet. After four consecutive days, their first formal drive since February 8th, the boutique managed to hit its capacity and had to turn away additional donations. The outcome of this event, made possible with the help of Spiffy’s disinfectant products, has the Dress for Success Denver team focused on bringing back their regularly scheduled monthly donations, starting on July 11th.
Our technicians, who are members of the greater Denver community, were just as happy to assist in these efforts as the Dress for Success team.
“It is emotional, you know? These people haven't been able to do what they love and what they get up every day to do for three months now,” said Nick Cooper, Spiffy General Manager in Denver. “We're giving them that platform, that opportunity to get back to helping their community and doing their jobs. On our side, it's an amazing feeling to contribute to the community that you live in and you work in and provide safe options for people to move forward.”
“When we show up to a client's house or facility, they definitely kind of look at us in a different way.” added Juan Chavez, Spiffy Supervisor in Denver. “It’s important to have a dedication to safety because we are going into their personal property, vehicles, household or whatever we're doing. So soon as they see us pull up and we're in PPE, we have our mask and gloves on, I think that makes them feel a little safe, like, ‘Okay, they're coming prepared, they're here to help while not spreading anything.’”
Working with the women from Dress for Success Denver has been an amazing and rewarding experience, especially as we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re thrilled to be a part of their solution for clothing and facility disinfection, and look forward to serving them again in the future!
Are you interested in learning more about Spiffy as a solution for facility disinfection? Feel free to reach out and see just how our powerful, hospital-grade products can make it easier to navigate the post-lockdown COVID-19 world.
Posted in Lifestyle, Facilities, Disinfection
