St. Pauly History Home |
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| St. Pauly, a
Western New York used clothing company was formed in 1996 by best
friends Paul Callarame and Joe DeGeorge with a dream and a pick-up
truck. Paul, with experience in the used clothing industry, was
disheartened when he saw a massive amount of clothing ending up in
landfills. He approached Joe who was recently out of the insurance
industry, to start St. Pauly. The two came up with the idea of
collecting used clothing in the Rochester, N.Y. area and shipping it
all over the U.S. and Third World countries. Along with family members, the two hit the streets of communities all over Monroe county leaving behind informational fliers and a smile. They waited in a small warehouse in Henrietta for people to call asking for a clothing pick-up. They would, and still do travel long distances for only a few bags, working under the idea that customer service and involvement in the community is not only rewarding, but fun! Their first load of clothing went out after six weeks of back-breaking labor. St. Pauly started to facilitate clothing drives at schools, churches and other community organizations. In 1998 they moved to a larger warehouse on Mushroom Boulevard in Henrietta. A turning point came when they tried to make it easier for people coming to the warehouse to donate clothing. A wooden drop-off shed was built outside the building, the community responded and clothing began flooding in. In 2004, St. Pauly moved to Farmington, N.Y. Now, St. Pauly works with more than 300 non-profit, community organizations every year. More than 130 groups host drop-off sheds all over the region. Each of these non-profit groups have benefited immensely with their relationship with St. Pauly. In 2006, more than 26 million garments were distributed to an estimated 3.5 million people all over the world! In addition, St. Pauly now has a sister company in New Jersey and is currently expanding all over New York State. Recently, Joey, Joe’s oldest son, joined the company after an eight year career as a high school music teacher. Joe’s son, Ben has already committed himself to joining St. Pauly upon completion of college at SUNY Geneseo in 2009. St. Pauly continues to pride itself on it’s involvement in the community, respectful business practices, ethical management style, local employment, and always “doing the right thing.” |
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