Dresses still needed – donate by April 4th at any Anton’s Cleaners, Rockland Trust, or Jordan’s Furniture location near you.
TEWKSBURY, Mass. – Anton’s Cleaners, a local leader in clothing care for over a century, is helping prom dreams come true with Belle of the Ball, a pivotal community program dedicated to empowering those who need it most. Since 2005, Anton’s has used its professional expertise to clean and distribute thousands of prom dresses, ensuring that financial obstacles do not prevent high school juniors and seniors from attending their milestone events with confidence. With support from longstanding corporate partners such as Anton’s Cleaners, Jordan’s Furniture, and Rockland Trust, this program has evolved into a premier philanthropic operation that reflects Anton’s century-long legacy of using their platform for advocacy and community service.
On April 11th, more than 1,800 referred students are invited to Hynes Convention Center in Boston for a unique shopping experience called Boutique Day, the pinnacle event of the Belle of the Ball prom dress drive. This high-impact “shopping” boutique offers high school juniors and seniors a fun, high-energy day to “shop” for free for their dream prom dress, shoes, jewelry, purses, and more, but those sparkly items aren’t the only things that shine. This transformative experience helps them be confident, feeling beautiful, and ready for prom… a life event that they may not have attended without this support.
Reflecting on more than 100 years of service and heritage, Anton’s Cleaner’s current President, and grandchild of the founder, Arthur Anton Jr., COO of Anton’s Cleaners and founder of Belle of the Ball credits the company’s longevity to their commitment to the community. “Our customers are paramount, and we continue to expand our services and lead the New England dry cleaning industry with a rich heritage of quality, service, environmental responsibility and community commitment,” Anton describes. This unwavering dedication to service is the driving force behind the Belle of the Ball and Coats for Kids and Families clothing drive programs managed by Anton’s Cleaners.
“As we reflect on reaching the remarkable milestone of collecting and cleaning 100,000 prom dresses, we remain deeply committed to our founding mission: every high school student deserves to feel beautiful,” continued Anton.“When budgets are stretched and every dollar matters, Belle of the Ball helps ensure that any student who wants to attend prom has the perfect outfit to wear.”
“Belle of the Ball Boutique Day is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Eliot Tatelman from Jordan’s Furniture. “To witness the transformation of the students throughout the day, ending with a walk down the Red Carpet, is truly amazing. We are proud to continue supporting the Belle of the Ball program by encouraging our generous customers to donate dresses and gowns at any of our store locations.” Tatelman concluded, “Jordan’s Furniture has been a Corporate Partner to this essential initiative since the beginning, supporting youth and students throughout the area. We are very proud to help make a difference in their lives.”
“Prom marks an important milestone in a young woman’s life, a time she deserves to feel confident and genuinely seen,” said Peg McCarthy, Chief Retail Banking Officer at Rockland Trust. “Belle of the Ball helps make that experience more accessible for thousands of young women by easing financial barriers and allowing them to focus on the joy of the day. At Rockland Trust, we care deeply about the people and communities we serve, and we are proud to support an effort that helps create so many lasting, meaningful memories.”
Over the years, girls have shared final prom dress photos and written to the program with transformative stories, describing the impact Belle of the Ball has had on their lives – with many returning to volunteer long after their prom is over. To date, over 8,463 students have been outfitted since Belle of the Ball began in 2005, with over $4.7M in dry cleaning services donated by Anton’s since the program’s inception. More than 112,779 gently used prom dresses have been collected for donation since the program began.
From a century of service to a lifetime of instilling confidence, Belle of the Ball and Anton’s Cleaners are proud to build a community where everyone is beautiful and prom dreams are realized, no matter what the student’s financial circumstances may be.
About Anton’s Cleaners
Founded in Anton’s Cleaners is a premier, family-owned dry cleaning chain operating over 36 locations across Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Headquartered in Tewksbury, Mass., they are known for eco-friendly “EcoClean” technology, 24-hour drop boxes, and management of impactful community clothing drive programs as a corporate partner of Caring Partners Inc., a 501c3 organization managing both the Belle of the Ball and Coats for Kids & Families, New England’s largest clothing drives.
About Belle of the Ball
Belle of the Ball is New England’s largest prom dress drive campaign, collecting, cleaning, and distributing thousands of prom dresses and accessories at no charge to high school juniors and seniors who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend their school’s prom.
For more information about Caring Partners’ Belle of the Ball, visit antons.com/belle. Celebrating 20 years in 2026, Belle of the Ball is a program of Caring Partners, Inc, a 501c3 tax-deductible organization.
Tewksbury PR Partner
These posts are from the great organizations around Tewksbury that provide updates to the Carnation.
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