Zengeler Cleaners makes prom dreams come true for 10th straight year
“Amazing” results: 4,000+ dresses donated for Glass Slipper Project
Northbrook, IL – March 19, 2012: Zengeler Cleaners is once again giving needy Chicago-area high school girls a chance to go to prom, collecting a new all-time record of more than 4,000 prom dresses this year, plus shoes, jewelry, handbags and other accessories in support of the Glass Slipper Project, a Chicago-based charity that gives prom gowns for free to students who cannot otherwise afford them.
Many of these beautiful gowns originally sold for hundreds of dollars – and many of Zengeler Cleaners customers purchased and donated brand new dresses.
The increased donations continued the upward trend in the number and value of donations collected by the 154-year old family-owned and operated cleaners: this year's donations have a value of approximately $1.9 Million in value.
"Hundreds of young women now have the opportunity to enjoy their proms this year, thanks to those who made these generous donations," said Tom Zengeler, president of Zengeler Cleaners. “We are in awe of the generosity of students and their families for donating their own dresses, as well as total strangers who purchased and donated brand new dresses. This is truly amazing!”
As part of its commitment to the Glass Slipper Project, Zengeler Cleaners cleans, presses and makes minor repairs to the dresses and delivers them to the site where they are distributed, all services provided for free.
The "Boutique" shopping days will be held April 14, 21 and 28 at McCorkle School, 4421 S. State St. in Chicago (corner of 44th and State Street). Volunteer "personal shoppers" are on hand to help the students choose a dress. Since 1999, the organization has helped approximately 23,000 high school women find their perfect prom dress.
At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 23, the dresses and accessories will be packed and loaded into a truck for transport from Zengeler Cleaner's headquarters at 550 Dundee Road in Northbrook and delivered to McCorkle School and the special “Boutiques” for distribution to the young women who need them.
Since 2003, Zengeler Cleaners has collected more than 22,000 dresses, the most of any collection point involved in the drive. This year, dresses from students at Stevenson, Deerfield, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Carmel, New Trier and other local high schools, along with Zengeler Cleaners customers and several other local businesses, have been dropped off at each of eight Zengeler Cleaners stores. Some of the dresses even came in brand new, with tags still attached.
For more information about the Glass Slipper Project, visit www.glassslipperproject.org. For more information about Zengeler Cleaners, contact Tom Zengeler at (847) 272-6550, ext. 14, or visit Zengeler Cleaners' at www.zengelercleaners.com.
Zengeler Cleaners' stores are located in Deerfield, Hubbard Woods, Northfield, Winnetka, Long Grove, two Libertyville stores and company headquarters store in Northbrook.