Giving a AJ ROBBINS
HELPING
HAND by Caylie Howard | photos courtesy of Robbins Dry Cleaners social media page
A
mid a global pandemic, Robbins Dry Clean owner AJ Robbins decided to give back to the community in its time of need — and in a very big way. During the pandemic, Robbins said that he was making a routine delivery to one of his regular customers when he noticed that the family was in desperate need. The family didn’t have any furniture and were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Robbins felt led to help.
how many more people were in a
similar position. He then went to Walmart and purchased $2,000 worth of food
and toys for the families in need that had reached out. Robbins said, “By the time
my wife and I woke up the next morning, we had 106 to 108 messages of people needing help.”
Robbins also used his business to
help since many of his customers even pitched in to help with donations. This
included everything from food to canned
“When I saw what I saw, it boosted me.”
goods and cash. Robbins was amazed at
Robbins and his wife reached out through social media and various apps to find out
willing to give. Cecil Dalton with Dalton
some of the donations that people were
Flowers gave Robbins $5,000 in Walmart
gift cards to purchase food and toys for some of the
food and toys for the family and let them pick what they wanted. Robbins said that some of the things he would buy were pre-mix cakes and rotisserie chickens. “I probably bought 60 rotisserie chickens.” He even said that at one point, he cleaned out the entire stock at Kroger.
“WHEN I SAW WHAT I SAW, IT BOOSTED ME.” Robbins said that people were still reaching out on New Year’s Eve, asking for help during these difficult times. With the need still strong, Robbins decided to take action and make it happen one more time. With the help of the donors, Robbins was able to feed 74 families in need. He even pre-made boxes of toys for families that he knew had children. This pandemic has caused hardships for many people in our community. This was a cause that was close to Robbins’ heart. Robbins’ family has also gone through financially tough times. He knows what it’s like to have your back against the wall. He knows what it’s like not to be able to put food on the table. Because of his experiences, he went to great lengths to help local families in his community. And because of that, the holidays were a little brighter.
struggling families.
On Christmas Eve, Robbins
said that he got a phone call from a family that had no
food to put on their table
and were desperate to feed their children. Robbins left his own family dinner and went out and purchased
18 | FLOWER MOUND TOWN LIFE | FEBRUARY 2021
972.874.2178 www.robbinsdrycleaners.com 2001 Cross Timbers Rd Flower Mound, TX
www.FlowerMoundMagazine.com
