Category: Press Release

Anton’s Cleaners has kept thousands of children warm this winter season with its 16th annual Coats for Kids drive.

Donations began Oct. 11 at all of Anton’s 43 locations in the Greater Boston and Southern N.H. areas.

Anton’s hopes to collect 60,000 winter coats by Jan. 8.

“We take the coats in and we clean them in our stores,” said Arthur Anton, Jr., Anton’s Cleaners chief operating officer.

Once the coats are cleaned, they are distributed to partners including MASSCAP, Salvation Army, The Community Giving Tree, Community Teamwork Inc., The Lowell Wish Project, Southern N.H. Services, and Catholic Charities who work hard to assure that every person who needs a warm coat receives one.

“Our distributing partners do a great job making sure they deliver coats to as many children as they can,” said Anton, who was not sure how many coats had been collected to date.

Businesses, such as Enterprise Bank, got involved, collecting winter coats at all of its 17 locations starting after Labor Day. They were able to contribute 400 coats this year.

“When we would reach 250 we’d raise it to 300, and when we reached 300 we’d make it 325,” said Mary Ellen Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of Enterprise Bank. “You know, there’s always a spare coat in your closet you’re not using.”

The bank was so involved they devoted a whole room in the bank to storing the coats.

“A lot of local schools partake in the program to get involved in community service,” said Anton.

The drive has grown dramatically since 1994, when only 2,000 coats were donated, according to Anton.

Last year, Coats for Kids collected close to 58,000 winter coats.

Anton’s Cleaners has cleaned and distributed more than 620,000 winter coats since the drive began.

Promotional partners FOX25, Kiss 108, and Jordan’s Furniture play a major role in spreading the word to the public.

Jordan’s Furniture accepts winter coats at all store locations and awards a $1,200 prize to the first place elementary and middle schools who collect the most winter coats. Jordan’s Furniture also gives tickets to the Verizon IMAX 3D Theater to the winning Girl Scout and Boy Scout troop that collects the most support.

“The generosity of people really allows us to do this,” said Anton.

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If Santa brought you a new coat for Christmas, Anton’s Cleaners would like to take your old coat off your hands.

The dry-cleaning chain is collecting gently used coats of all sizes through Jan. 8. Anton’s will clean the coats and donate them to charities that distribute them to those in need in the Boston area.

The collection meets an ever-present need that has increased with the recession, said Arthur Anton Jr., Anton’s chief operating officer.

“There is still a huge need for people that don’t have the ability to buy coats. We look to the generosity of people to make (helping people) possible,” Anton said.

Anton’s annual collection, dubbed Coats for Kids, began in October. Last year, the company collected 60,000 coats — a number they hope to match this year.

Anton’s Cleaners has 43 stores in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire; its Hamilton location is at 15 Walnut Road, in the Shoppes at Hamilton Crossing plaza.

Donations of warm winter coats should be gently used, without broken zippers, rips or tears. Coats can also be dropped off at all Jordan’s Furniture locations.

The donated coats are distributed through numerous charities, including the Salvation Army, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Rosie’s Place and the Boxford-based Community Giving Tree.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Salem receives coats from Anton’s for their coat closet ministry, which distributes outerwear on the first Saturday of the month, November through February.

The Rev. Daniel Vé©lez-Rivera, one of two priests at the Spanish- and English-language church, said they sometimes see more than 100 people come to receive coats on a Saturday morning.

“Every year, there’s more and more need,” he said. “It’s phenomenal — Anton’s provides us with as many coats as we need. … We’re hoping to be able to expand the goodness Anton’s is doing. It’s wonderful they make it so easy for us.”

St. Peter’s coat closet ministry was started seven years ago by parishioners Phyllis Caliri and Carole MacDonald; last year was the first time they received coats from Anton’s.

Vé©lez-Rivera said his congregation, in turn, is beginning to share coats from Anton’s not only to people through their coat closet ministry but to other area nonprofits and social agencies.

Anton’s held its first Coats for Kids drive in 1994, collecting 2,000 coats. In its 15-year history, Coats for Kids has collected, cleaned and distributed a total of 620,015 coats.

HOW TO HELP

For full details on Coats for Kids, visit antons.com/cfk

St. Peter’s Coat Closet is open 9 a.m. to noon on the first Saturday of each month, November through February. The church is at 24 St. Peter St., Salem. For more information, call 978-745-2291 or visit stpeterssalem.org

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Employees at Anton’s Cleaners shops spend time on Wednesdays and Thursdays cleaning donated coats so they can be distributed to children in need.

This is the 16th year in a row that Anton’s, a dry cleaning business with 43 locations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, has ran a program called Coats for Kids. Last year, Anton’s cleaned about 60,000 donated coats.

The coats get to the recipients through the Coats for Kids Distribution Partners network, which includes organizations like the Salvation Army and Brockton-based Catholic Charities South.

Kids in the day care program at the Agape Child Care and Family Life Center in Brockton are given coats by Catholic Charities South if they look unprepared for winter weather.

“You can’t play in the snow if you don’t have a coat,” said Nicki Meade Draves, development coordinator for Catholic Charities South.

The Salvation Army handed out more than 6,000 coats it received from Anton’s at a recent Christmas charity event in Boston.

The coats were organized by age and gender, and people could walk in and get coats for the whole family, said Kimberly Santos, special events coordinator for the Salvation Army.

The goal is to reach a total of 60,000 donated coats by Jan. 8, said Arthur Anton Jr., chief operating officer of Anton’s Cleaners.

The need for warm clothes is very real, as was made evident by the Sunday-Monday blizzard, Anton said.

“All you have to do is look at kids waiting at bus stops” – many are not wearing clothing warm enough for the weather, he said.

Coat donations will be accepted at all 43 Anton’s Cleaner’s shops and all Jordan’s Furniture locations through Jan. 8.

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Anton’s Cleaners kicked off its 16th annual Coats for Kids drive last month, and will be collecting winter coats through Jan. 8 at 300 elementary and middle schools throughout Massachusetts.

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Today was the day that many kids have been waiting for, as a dozen members of the Shrewsbury Leaders of Tomorrow group made Christmas a little brighter for 500 Worcester Elementary school students with their annual winter coat distribution.

Teamwork was the name of the game, as families and local business owners ran all over Massachusetts last week, picking up over 700 coats, donated to the Shrewsbury based Massachusetts Children’s Fund, via the Anton’s cleaners Coats for Kids program.  As shuttles ran to and from Lowell, Methuen, Medfield, and Framingham, the stockpile of children’s coats began to take shape, and it all culminated with this mornings fantastic coat give away program at a local elementary school in Worcester, in which almost 90% of the students are on the free and reduced lunch program, and few had decent winter coats.  To see the love and compassion with which our Shrewsbury students hand fitted each person with a new winter coat, was simply inspiring.  Obviously, the values of empathy and hard work that they’ve learned here in Shrewsbury over the years has really made it’s mark, and they worked for hours until all the kids had a coat for themselves, and in many cases and extra to bring home for a sibling or two.

Special thanks go to LOT member Gracie Rocco, who was the team leader for the project, her mom and dad who helped along the way, and Nick Martinelli for being the best pick-up driver ever.   More thanks to the students who came this morning, Nick Revelli, Jesse Levine, Jack Snyder, Shannon Bouffard, Brooke Johnson, Liz St. Pierre, Garret Lehan and several others.  Last but not least, thanks to the great staff at Oak Middle School for allowing the kids to take a couple hours away from their formal “lessons” to learn what may have been the most valuable lesson of the year – namely that they need to be grateful each and every day for all they have.

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In the past 15 years, the annual Coats for Kids campaign at Anton’s Cleaners, which has locations in Tewksbury and Wilmington, has collected over 600,000 coats, with more than half coming from the efforts of students throughout the region.

With this year’s Coats for Kids now in full swing, Anton’s Cleaners is once again looking to schools in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire to become involved and help their others stay warm this winter.

Along with benefiting their communities, participating schools will enter the School Rewards Program, which recognizes the top three elementary and middle schools that collect the most coats per student enrolled. Prizes include $1,200 of furnishings for the Student Area from Jordan’s Furniture, a $250 gift certificate to Paul’s TV, a sundae and pizza party, cash rewards, gift certificates for school supplies, and a visit by a FOX 25 Meteorologist.

Along with the prizes, the genuine goodwill generated by the students resonates throughout each school.

“Every morning during Coats for Kids a student makes an announcement about the dates of the drive, the location of the collection boxes, how the coats are distributed to the needy, and the daily coat count,” said Maryfran Doiron, a seventh-grade science teacher at R.J. Grey Junior High in Acton, which has been collecting coats for 15 years. “This builds enthusiasm throughout the building as the coat count number rises daily. I am often stopped in the hall by students and faculty alike asking how we are doing relative to previous years.”

All participating schools receive posters and flyers to help promote Coats for Kids.

“We provide the tools the students need to be successful,” said Arthur Anton, Jr., chief operating officer of Anton’s Cleaners. “And they provide the determination and enthusiasm that has made Coats for Kids such a success.”

Schools wishing to participate in Coats for Kids, which will be collecting gently worn coats through Jan. 8, 2011, can register online at www.antons.com/cfk/register.html, or by calling Danielle Kempe at 617-328-0069 ext. 26 or by e-mail at cfk@grahamcomm.com.

Anton’s Cleaners is a family-owned, Massachusetts business that first opened its doors in Lowell, in 1913. The company has 43 dry cleaning stores throughout Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. For locations, visit www.antons.com.

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With four children between ages 7 and 14, the Kelley family is always buying new coats before winter.

But, rather than throw out gently-used jackets that no longer fit, the family donates them to those in need through an annual program run by Anton’s Cleaners at Ralph Talbot Elementary School in Weymouth.

“It’s a win-win for everyone involved,” said mother Jennifer Kelley, who serves on the school’s parent council. “Parents get to clean out their closets and the children get to learn the benefits of donating to a charity.”

The Talbot school is one of more than 100 schools participating in Anton’s Cleaners’ 16th annual Coats for Kids drive.

The Tewksbury-based cleaners hope to collect 60,000 coats this year, a far cry from the 2,000 they received in their first year, said Arthur C. Anton, Jr., the cleaner’s chief operating officer.

The coats are cleaned and distributed to social service agencies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, he said.

“I know a lot of people have several coats that they haven’t worn in two years,” Anton said. “If you haven’t worn it for two years, there are people that need it more than your closet.”

The program accepts children’s or adult coats. Beginning Monday, items can be dropped off at any Anton’s Cleaners or Jordan’s Furniture location.

Anton’s Cleaners has stores in Braintree, Brockton, Canton, Easton, Marshfield and Stoughton.

The program ends Jan. 8. For more information, visit www.antons.com/cfk or call 800-659-0069.

Brian Benson may be reached at bbenson@ledger.com.

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One of the draws of living in New England is the beautiful rusty red and mustard orange leaves on the trees during foliage.

However, it is also the first sign of winter, and according to the Farmers’ Almanac, this winter there will be “more days of shivery conditions” then past winters.

Unfortunately, with the frigid forecast predicted and the bitter economic times, more children and adults will find themselves without a warm coat to wear during the long winter months in Massachusetts.

But thanks to Coats for Kids and Anton’s Cleaners many people will be able to have a warm winter coat.

On Oct. 11, Anton’s Cleaners, with 43 stores throughout Eastern Massachusetts, including Tewksbury (Stadium Plaza, 10 Main St.), will kick off the 16th annual Coats for Kids campaign. Coats for Kids is a community relations program, which annually distributes gently-worn coats to those in need.

“It is a good fit for what we do, and we were brought up to always give back to the community,” Arthur Anton Jr. said. “Since we began, it has grown and grown as there is more of a need. We started our first year with 2,000 coats, last year we had close to 60,000.”

Since the program began in 1994, Anton’s has collected, cleaned free of charge and distributed over 620,000 gently-worn winter coats to men, women and children who would otherwise be without one.

Anton said they got involved with Coats for Kids because it was a good match for their business, they had not realized how great the need was. As the economy got even worse, more and more people found themselves unable to get a winter coat and they were determined to provide everyone in need with a warm coat.

Last year, over 250 schools and 300 supporting partners also participated in the collection process, with donated coats being distributed by social service agencies throughout Eastern Massachusetts.

“The drive has grown by getting schools and other businesses involved, which I believe is important for community service,” Anton said. “Many people have coats not used or kids outgrow them, people see the drive and have a couple coats to donate, it becomes a great teaching lesson. It is important for customers to get involved in community service.”

To donate to Coats for Kids, simply drop off a coat at 10 Main St., Stadium Plaza or any Anton’s Cleaners location, they will clean the coat free of charge and have it picked up by Coats for Kids.

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It is once again the holiday season in New England. For both locals and visitors, Massachusetts inspires a vision of snow-capped hills, cozy window displays, and a longing for general merriment.

Traditionally, winter is also a time of giving. People give presents to one another and give thanks for what they have. The holiday season also inspires people to give to those less fortunate.

It was the Anton family’s desire to give back to the community in the tradition of the season that prompted them to start the Coats for Kids charity drive in 1995.

Anton’s Cleaners has set up collection sites at all of its 43 locations around the area. People can donate used coats, provided they are in serviceable condition, to be distributed to those who need them. Fifteen years, and over 620,000 collected coats later, the drive is still going strong.

“The goal of Coats for Kids is to make certain that the strong demand for warm coats is matched by the even stronger generosity of our neighbors throughout the region,” says Charles A. Anton, CEO of Anton’s Cleaners.

The program started as a way for the family to give back to the community as their business grew. Anton’s Cleaners was founded in 1913, in Lowell, MA. The little family-owned business expanded and duplicated, until it was no longer a small business, but a franchise of 43 locations. Third-generation Antons attribute their success to their rich heritage of quality, service, environmental responsibility and community commitment.

This year the business is pushing for 60,000 coats to be donated before Jan. 8. Anton’s Cleaners will then clean the coats at their own expense and pass them off to distribution partners for dispersal.  Last year the Antons were able to give away 58,000 coats donated by local residents.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment is estimated to be around 8 percent this winter in Massachusetts. With less money circulating in households, and fuel-poverty at an all-time high, distribution of warm, gently-worn winter clothing has become more necessary than ever, making charities such as Coats For Kids crucial.

“We need children and adult coats that are in usable condition, free of rips, missing buttons, permanent stains or broken zippers,” Charles Anton said.

Anton’s Cleaners has joined forces with promotional support from FOX25 television, Jordan’s Furniture and KISS-108 radio station. Coats for Kids has also drawn support from more than 456 organizations acting as collection partners, and more than 60 distribution partners, comprised mostly of social service agencies, such as Salvation Army, Wish Project, and Community Giving Tree, to name only a few.

If you would like to make a contribution, donate a coat, or find additional information, visit www.antons.com/cfk or via Facebook: www.facebook.com/coatsforkids.
In Burlington, there is an Anton’s Cleaners with a Coats for Kids collection at 47 Winn St.

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With the Farmer’s Almanac predicting one of our coldest winters in many years, Anton’s Cleaners, which has locations in Tewksbury and Wilmington, kicks off its 16th annual Coats for Kids winter coat drive on Oct. 11, with the goal of collecting 60,000 coats to be distributed to those in need throughout eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Coat collections run through Jan. 8, 2011.

“The goal of Coats for Kids is to make certain that the strong demand for warm coats is matched by the even stronger generosity of our neighbors throughout the region,” said Charles A. Anton, CEO of Anton’s Cleaners. “Coats for Kids has become a true community event, attracting hundreds of schools, businesses and local organizations who want to become involved. We could not have accomplished what we have over the past 15 years without all of their support.”

Over the past 15 years, more than 620,000 adult and children’s coats have been collected and cleaned at no charge by Anton’s Cleaners. Although that amounts to enough coats to outfit practically every single person living in the city of Boston, every year there are stillthousands of men, women and children who desperately need a warm winter coat.

“We need children and adult coats that are in useable condition, free of rips, missing buttons, permanent stains or broken zippers,” Anton said.

Last year, nearly 60,000 coats were collected, cleaned and donated to those in need through a network of distribution partners that will once again include Massachusetts Community Action Programs (MASSCAP), Salvation Army, Rosie’s Place, Middlesex Human Service Agency, The Wish Project, Community Giving Tree, Mental Health Association of Greater Lowell, Catholic Charities, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Lutheran Social Services of New England, to name just a few.

The Coats for Kids drive has the support of a group Promotional Partners, including FOX25, KISS-108, Gatehouse Media and Jordan’s Furniture, which is opening its four locations — Avon, Natick, Reading, and Nashua, N.H. — as drop-off points for coats. In addition, Jordan’s Furniture will donate $1,200 worth of furniture and a $500 worth of gift certificate from Paul’s TV to the winning elementary and middle schools in the School Rewards program, as well as tickets to its IMAX theater for the winning middle school.

The School Rewards program promotes the collection in elementary and middle schools, which continue to be a driving force for Coats for Kids. Last year, nearly 300 schools participated in the program. The top three schools collecting the highest number of coats per students enrolled received prizes, including school supply gift certificates, pizza parties, ice cream sundae parties, and visits from a FOX25 meteorologist. Returning as supporting partners are Graham Communications, Package Supply Corporation and Enterprise Bank.

To find an Anton’s Cleaners near you, to register to become a collection partner, or to register an elementary or middle school for participation in the School Rewards competition, visit www.antons.com/cfk or call the Coats for Kids hotline at 800-659-0069. Become a fan on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/coatsforkids and clicking the “like” button at the top of the page.

Anton’s Cleaners is a family-owned, Massachusetts business that first opened its doors in Lowell in 1913. Today, 97 years later, the company has 43 dry cleaning stores throughout Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Anton’s Cleaners is the recipient of the Massachusetts Family Business Award and Enterprise Bank’s Celebration of Excellence Award.

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