Closed Brooklyn Dry Cleaners Use Their Last Dollars to Give Free Face Masks to Community

Lily La and Tony Trinh are not letting the pandemic stop them from working. They have reportedly sewn and given away more than 2,000 masks for free, according to ABC7 New York.

La and Trinh have been running their small business for three decades, but with the recent pandemic, the couple is now down to one meal a day. They said that their son has already lost 15 pounds and they have no idea how they will be able to pay rent.

However, instead of selling the masks, they give them out for free as their own way of thanking America.

“That’s one way for us to say thanks America,” La told ABC7 New York. “We came here with bare hands, we raised our three kids, go to college. This is one way for us to say thanks.”

Trinh, who is known in the community as Tony, practices social distancing by using their son’s lacrosse stick to hand the masks to their customers.

Although they are doing this for free, the couple said they will not turn down any tips or extra fabric to make more masks. But their main objective right now is to simply protect their neighbors, the owners said.

La Dry Cleaners is one of the many Asian-owned businesses across the United States that have converted into studios to make masks and other essential supplies to be donated to the community.

Feature Image Screenshot via ABC7 New York