Mahamed Youssouf, who owns Green Cleaners and Alterations, was honored with a proclamation by the Clark County Commissioners for giving back to first responders since 1 October by providing free dry cleaning services for their uniforms.
WATCH the full video from the meeting in the video player above.
Youssouf as many of his customers call him, says the kind gesture began in the days immediately following the tragedy. He says one of his customers asked if they could pay for all of the dry cleaning costs for first responders uniforms.
Youssouf matched the generous offer and soon others came forward with similar gestures.
"This is my hometown," said Youssouf.
"I cannot turn my back and my small gesture of what I can do in my power, it turned out to be a great benefit to everybody," he added.
Youssouf has kept track of each uniform he has cleaned. According to his records, he has cleaned almost 1,000 uniforms without charging first responders a dime.
"And for us, we should not forget what they do every day," said Youssouf.
Youssouf has lived in the Las Vegas valley since 1985. He came to the United States from Ethiopia as a political refugee. He only had $50 in his pocket when he began a new life in the land of the free. He says he knows how important community can be.
Youssouf says the kind gesture will likely run out of money in a couple of weeks.
Facebook live video at Green Cleaners
