Acton's RJ Grey Junior High First on Board for Caring Partners' Coats for Kids

Public Contact: Stephanie Littlefield, Stephanie@antons.com or 978-851-3721 x15

CARING PARTNERS’ COATS FOR KIDS COLLECTION DRIVE LAUNCHES OCT. 13, 2014

RJ Grey Junior High of Acton is first school to sign up for this year’s drive - celebrates 19 years of participation

ACTON - Starting October 13, 2014, Caring Partners is kicking off its 20th annual Coats for Kids winter coat drive sponsored by Anton’s Cleaners and Jordan’s Furniture. The drive will run through January 10, 2015. The Coats for Kids collection has one simple goal - to help individuals who otherwise wouldn’t be able to keep themselves and their families warm. Coats for Kids is New England’s largest coat drive, with school groups making up one half of all collections; over 848,000 coats since the program began, and 52,621 coats donated in 2013 alone.

According to Arthur C. Anton Jr., COO of Anton’s Cleaners, “Coats for Kids offers an incredible opportunity for schools, local businesses and community organizations to collaborate on an activity that benefits those in need. Anton’s Cleaners is proud to be celebrating two decades of service in partnership with local businesses and organizations, and to help make winter a little warmer for children, teens and adults in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.”

Coats for Kids accepts warm winter coats that are gently used, good quality, and all sizes are needed (especially XL and pre-K sizes). The drive does not accept coats with rips, tears, broken zippers, or permanent stains, nor can we accept sweatshirts, vests and spring coats.

Acton’s RJ Grey Junior High is the first school to sign up for the program, and is celebrating their 19th year with Coats for Kids. Local public, parochial and independent schools are still welcome to enroll and play a huge role in the collection process, bringing in a huge portion of the 55,000 coats distributed in 2013. Not only do schools experience the rewards of community service, but they get incentivized through the School Rewards Program™. This program awards great prizes to the top three elementary and middle schools who collect the most coats per capita – leveling the playing field so everyone has a chance to win. See website for registration form and details: http://antons.com/cfk/get-involved/register-your-school/. This year, bonuses will be awarded to schools who share success stories by email to Stephanie@antons.com before December 31, 2014.

“Jordan’s Furniture has supported Coats For Kids for a long time,” says Eliot Tatelman, Jordan’s President and CEO. “Each year, our wonderful customers hear the message and answer the call. I am continually amazed by the generosity of the people around us. To be able to contribute so many garments to families in our communities who are underserved is a great feeling. And it is important to us to be a part of the School Rewards Program, too,” Tatelman adds. “It is never too early to start teaching about the importance of giving back.”

As Collection Partners, participating schools, companies and organizations collect good quality, warm winter coats and then bring them to any of Anton’s Cleaners’ 42 locations or one of the five Jordan’s Furniture stores.
Participating companies receive posters and other marketing material to promote the drive within their companies and groups.

Once collected and cleaned, coats are distributed free of charge through the Coats for Kids Distribution Partners network, which includes organizations such as BU Medical Center Outreach Van Project, Catholic Charities, Community Giving Tree, Massachusetts Community Action Programs (MASSCAP), Mental Health Association of Greater Lowell, Middlesex Human Service Agency, Salvation Army, Taunton State Hospital, Wish Project and many more. Last year’s drive collected 52,621 coats, with Anton’s donating over $10M in cleaning services.

Promotional partners for the 2014-2015 Coats for Kids collection include Jordan’s Furniture, Wicked Local, Fox 25 Boston, KISS 108, Jam’n 94.5, and 101.7 The Bull.

For more information, visit http://antons.com/cfk/ or contact Stephanie Littlefield, Anton’s Cleaners Community Relations, at 978-851-3721 x15 or Stephanie@antons.com.

To register your school online to participate, visit http://antons.com/cfk/school/.

To sign up and become a Corporate Partner, visit http://antons.com/cfk/become-a-partner/.