Nearly 500 Girls Received Free Prom Dresses at 11th Annual Belle of the Ball Boutique Day

With prom memories still lingering in the air, Caring Partners’ 11th annual Belle of the Ball prom dress drive is taking the moment to thank those who helped nearly 500 high school junior and senior girls attend one of life’s milestone events. Many girls with fewer financial resources must choose not to attend this major life event due to the expenses that come with prom season. Starting in February through April, local corporations, nonprofits, retailers, media partners, and volunteers joined Caring Partners’ “Belle of the Ball” program. Together, they collected gently worn or new prom dresses and special occasion shoes and purses for the girls to choose from. The 2015 program resulted in the collection of nearly 5,000 dresses.

Dresses and accessories were collected at all Anton’s Cleaners’ 42 locations and Jordan’s Furniture stores (see antons.com for store locations). Monetary donations are always welcome through the Belle of the Ball website (antons.com/belle), and will go towards the purchase of accessories including: jewelry, shoes, and handbags for the 2016 Boutique Day. Since attendance is by “invitation only,” students must be pre-qualified by guidance counselors, teachers, and social service agency personnel, who refer high school girls to the program. The referral process for the 12th annual event will reopen January 2016.

All dresses were cleaned free of charge 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 culminated in a heartwarming, daylong “boutique day” on April 11th at Simmons College for hundreds of deserving girls. To date, nearly 3,500 girls have been outfitted since Belle of the Ball began in 2005.

Volunteer personal shoppers helped the girls choose from thousands of prom dresses in a variety of colors, styles, and sizes displayed, all free of charge, and then the girls chose accessories and shoes to match, as well as hair and makeup tips. The invitation-only event was a daylong parade of beautiful young ladies dressed in equally gorgeous dresses. 371 enthusiastic volunteers and volunteer organizations such as Southern New Hampshire’s Kappa Delta Phi NAS Chi chapter, Dress to Impress, Boston University’s Club Get Involved in Volunteer Experiences, Saba Colman and Hunt Accounting, as well as other colleges, companies, and organizations all contributed to support these girls at Boutique Day.

“No one should have to skip their prom, a momentous day, because they cannot afford a dress,” said Arthur Anton Jr., COO, Anton’s Cleaners and a founder of Belle of the Ball. “Belle of the Ball allows girls to dream big and feel beautiful with the dress, purse, shoes and makeup. Thanks to generous supporters and customers, hundreds of young women will receive anything they need to feel like a princess the night of the ball.”

According to Eliot Tatelman, President and CEO of Jordan’s Furniture, “Giving back to the community is a critical part of what our Jordan’s team is all about, and we are proud to work with Caring Partners to help young women feel beautiful on one of their life’s biggest nights. At Jordan’s, we believe in helping children in need and are proud that Caring Partners is one of our key partnership programs.”

Belle of the Ball is, on the surface a dress collection drive. But at its core it is a powerful personal experience for each young woman who attends. The referred participants often come from difficult backgrounds, both financially and emotionally. Over the years, participants of Belle of the Ball have reflected that it was a wonderful experience not because of how they looked in their dresses, but because of the positive change in the way they felt about themselves.

Partners include Anton’s cleaners, Jordan’s Furniture, FOX25, The Bull 101.7, Kiss 108 FM, JAM’N 94.5, and Wicked Local.

Belle of the Ball is the proud winner of the 2010 Purple Dress Award from donatemydress.org. For more information about Caring Partners’ Belle of the Ball or Coats for Kids visit antons.com/belle or antons.com/cfk/.