Lake Co. cleaners helping make prom dreams come true

Thousands of teenage girls in Chicago will be sparkling in elegant dresses come prom night, thanks to the generosity of their suburban peers.

More than 3,000 dresses - some sophisticated, others sassy - have been gathered at Zengeler's Cleaners in Northbrook. The gowns are on their way to the city as part of an annual charity dress donation.

"It's amazing to think of how far this has come," said Zengeler President Tom Zengeler. "It just grows every year."

This year's collection broke all previous records, with 3,642 dresses donated. With an average price of a new dress at $400, Zengeler estimates the retail value is $1.5 million. The first year of the drive, 800 dresses were donated.

The effort is coordinated by the Glass Slipper Project. The organization collects the new and almost-new formal dresses and provides them, free of charge, to Chicago high school students who are unable to purchase their own prom attire.

Stevenson, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Carmel Catholic and Deerfield high schools have been collecting the dresses during the past year. The dresses were gathered at Zengeler's Northbrook location to be delivered on Friday. It's the seventh year the 152-year-old cleaning business has participated.

After cleaning, pressing and minor repairs are done at Zengeler's, the gowns make their way to several temporary "boutiques" in Chicago. The girls then link up with "personal shoppers" to select the style they like.

Zengeler employee Pete Donis makes the Chicago delivery every year. He wishes the girls who donated the dresses could see the reaction of the recipients.

"It's just an incredible scene," Donis said. "To see the way these girls react, the look on their faces. It's really heartwarming.