The only words that accurately describe 45th
Avenue Cleaners' commitment to the environment
and the community are "tikkun olam," according
to owner Brian Olson.
Olson is the first and only Certified Environmental
Dry Cleaner in Portland. His wall near the cash
register is covered with environmental awards
and community service awards, as well as a 2004
Oregonian article listing 45th Avenue Cleaners
as "Best Dry Cleaner in Oregon." Olson also
offers a "mitzvah client" program. Once a client
signs up as a mitzvah client, Olson donates
5 percent of all the income from that client's
business to the Jewish Federation of Greater
Portland.
"It fits with the whole concept of repairing
the world," said Olson, who is a Jew by choice.
"I used to call it being socially responsible,
but tikkun olam fits much better."
Olson said he spent much of his life aimlessly
searching spiritually for something he sensed
existed but could never reach. Then he attended
one Shabbat service at Congregation Beth Israel
and "I was hooked."
He said he began studying with Rabbi Ariel
Stone- Halpern, then assistant rabbi at Beth
Israel.
"The more I learned, the more amazed I became
at how much it mirrored what I already believed
about how I should live my life," Olson said.
"Running my business ethically, taking care
of my employees and the community"--he found
all that reflected in Jewish tradition.
Eventually Olson and his partner, Andy Hamon,
joined South Metro Jewish Congregation, where
Olson now studies with Rabbi Larry Halpern,
the husband of his first teacher.
After Hamon was buried in the SMJC Cemetery,
Olson became chair of the SMJC Cemetery Committee.
"I'm finding that to be a remarkably healing
experience," he said. "I have an emotional attachment
to helping provide that service."
Olson said the support he received during his
partner's illness and burial was so valuable
that he wants to share that with others in his
congregation when they need such support.
Olson said that when he created his "mitzvah
client" category three years ago, he chose the
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland to receive
the proceeds because it provided "the most bang
for the buck."
"I had to figure out where I could send the
money that would have the broadest reach," said
Olson. "If I send it to federation, it's going
to be dispersed and go where it needs to go.
I like the concept of what they do."
Unfortunately, Olson said, he has had a hard
time promoting the mitzvah client program.
"It's sad, it depresses me," he said as he
admitted that thus far the program has only
garnered about $200 a year for the federation.
Olson also keeps a Jewish National Fund tzedakah
box on his desk. Loose coins that end up on
the floor or in the button trap on his cleaning
machines are added to the box.
Olson also provides free cleaning for a theater
group and a ballet troupe.
He said after he attended the Triangle Theatre
production of "Bent," a gay love story set in
Nazi Germany, he volunteered to clean the nonprofit
theater's costumes. He said that resulted in
his most gut-wrenching experience in the cleaning
business. Olson said he tried to clean and press
the Nazi uniforms and Nazi banner as quickly
and unobtrusively as possible so he could get
them out of the shop before people assumed he
was affiliated with that movement.
He also cleans costumes for the nonprofit Pacific
Festival Ballet, which produces the "Nutcracker"
every year.
In addition to his commitment to the Jewish
and general community, Olson is also very active
in the Oregon Dry Cleaners Association. He has
served on the ODA board for seven years, serving
as president in 2002.
He has received awards from both the dry cleaning
industry and the environmental community. He
said he is proudest of the "Model Cleaner Award"
from the National Waste Prevention Coalition.
He said the award was from a private environmental
group that wanted to reward those in the industry
whose actions it considered positive. The 45th
Avenue Cleaners was one of 12 dry cleaners recognized
nationally and the only one on the West Coast.
He also has earned the Environmental Protection
Agency Region 10 Evergreen Award, a Mayor's
Spirit of Portland Award and the Tom Mosher
Dry Cleaner of the Year Award. For the past
12 years he has participated in the Salvation
Army's Coats for Kids Program. Last spring he
was recognized for "exemplary public service"
by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
for offering his business as a training facility
for DEQ inspectors who need to provide technical
assistance regarding regulations in the dry-cleaning
industry.
Olson's 45th Avenue Cleaners is located at
4400 S.W. Multnomah Blvd., hidden in the corner
of a small shopping center at the corner of
45th Avenue and Multnomah Boulevard. The cleaners
can be reached at 503-244-9707.
