This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

E.L.E.C. Holds Prom Dress Drive Saturday Mar. 22nd for Anton's Cleaners "Belle of the Ball" program

E.L.E.C. Inc. holds prom dress collection in Easton for Anton’s Cleaners’ “Belle of the Ball” prom dress drive this Saturday, March 22nd, 11a-2p in Easton, Mass.

-- Statewide prom dress drive ends March 29th – bring your gently worn formalwear to your local Anton’s Cleaners or closest Jordan’s Furniture store

Prom season is here, and for some girls, this red carpet season stirs dreams of designer dresses, shoe shopping and one of the biggest social events of the year. For girls with fewer financial resources, the expenses of prom season can bring enormous stress on the entire family, and many girls must choose not to attend this major life event.
 Luckily, the tenth annual Belle of the Ball Prom Dress Collection program is underway to help. Belle of the Ball distributes cleaned prom dresses at no charge to high school junior and senior girls who could not otherwise afford to attend their school’s prom.
 


Educated Ladies Empowered to Change (E.L.E.C.) Inc. will be lending their support with a one-day prom dress drive on Saturday, March 22nd 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Center for Nonprofit Management at Stonehill College, 16 Belmont Street in Easton. Gently worn dresses, shoes and purses will be accepting at this event, which features desserts and drinks to all who attend and donate; simply RSVP to Marie Huff at m.huff@elechange.org.

**Can’t make it this Saturday? Anyone can donate good quality, gently worn or new prom dresses and like-new special occasion purses. These items can be dropped off at any of Anton’s Cleaners 42 locations or Jordan’s Furniture stores through March 29, 2014 (seeantons.com for store locations). Monetary and in-kind donations are also welcome to cover jewelry, makeup and other accessories and prom-related services; visit antons.com/belle.

All dresses are cleaned by Anton’s free of charge as a community service as a program of Caring Partners, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
 
Unlike other prom gown collection drives, this program culminates in a day-long “boutique” where deserving girls are invited for a day of personal shopping and pampering. Last year, over 400 girls participated in Boutique Day, with close to 2,000 dresses in a variety of colors, styles and sizes displayed, all free of charge. To date, more than 2,300 girls have been outfitted since Belle of the Ball began in 2005.

Last year, Anton’s Cleaners collected 5,676 dresses, with cleaning services donated exceeding $203,000. Since attendance is by invitation only, girls are pre-qualified and referred by guidance counselors, teachers and social service agency personnel.


“Let’s face it: proms are expensive and quite a financial burden for some families. Belle of the Ball gives young women the chance to feel like a princess for a day, giving them everything they need to make prom night as beautiful and magical as they are,” said Arthur Anton Jr., COO, Anton’s Cleaners and founder of Belle of the Ball. “Thanks to generous supporters and customers, we can give these dresses a second life and make hundreds of young women sure every girl who wants to attend her prom is able to.”

According to Eliot Tatelman, President and CEO of Jordan’s Furniture, “Jordan’s has always believed in giving back to the community and this is one of our many wonderful, dedicated charitable initiatives. Helping young women feel beautiful inside and out - assisting youth and families right in our backyard – is a wonderful result of this program.”
 


Belle of the Ball is the proud winner of the 2010 Purple Dress Award from donatemydress.org.
 
For more information about Anton’s Cleaners Belle of the Ball, visit antons.com/belle. 

###

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?