National Clothesline

When the deadline for Anton’s Cleaners 2012 Coats for Kids drive officially passed on Sunday, Jan. 8, the company had fallen a little shy of their goal of collecting 60,000 winter garments for those in need of them.

As a result, the company opted to continue collecting past the deadline in order to inch closer to the goal. At press time, they were over the 56,000 mark for the 2012 drive.

“We are thrilled to be in the 17th year of the program,” said Arthur Anton, Jr., chief operating officer of Anton’s and founder of the Coats for Kids program. “We have seen the program grow from a few thousand coats to now collecting over 50,000 a year. My most memorable part of the program is being able to hear the true life stories from the distribution partners every year... how our program has helped so many people in need.”

In addition to relying on the kindness of its customers and the general public, this year’s efforts hinged on the support from 84 distribution partners, 159 community partners, 156 corporate partners and 257 schools — totaling 656 partners, the most Anton’s has had since the drive began.

Anton’s also decided to give Coats for Kids a complete creative overhaul this year, including a brand new web site at www.antons.com/cfk.

Another new addition was an interactive leaderboard where schools competing to collect the most garments could enter in their updated totals of donations and see their accumulated points.

When the final tallies of the drive are recorded, Anton’s will hand out prizes for the winners, including school supplies, ice cream parties, cash prizes, special events, pizza parties and IMAX tickets.

Despite all of the new changes, some things have remained the same for the drive over the years.

“Our goal and continued mission of the program is ‘anyone who needs a coat will have one’ and we are well on our way,” added Anton, Jr.

The National Cleaners Association is keeping a busy schedule of offerings during the first half of the year.

Many such classes are hosted at NCA’s training facility located in its headquarters building at West 29th St. in New York City. However, the association also offers quite a few sessions away from their headquarters to be convenient for cleaners.

Next on the schedule for the association is a two-day course on “Basic Pressing and Finishing” set from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 4 and 5 in the Bronx. The cost is $455 for members and $595 for non-members.

Also on the schedule is a 40-hour class on “Basic Pressing and Finishing” that meets from Monday to Friday, Feb. 6 to 10, in Northvale, NJ. Tuition is $750 for members and $995 for non-members.

Later in the month will be two all-day offerings on the same day: a “Technical Training II - Interactive Training for CSRs” course in New York City and a “Wetcleaning” class at NCA. Both cost $250 per member and $350 per non-member.

In March, “Bed Bug Cleaning Basics 101 will meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in New York City on Sunday the 4th. Cost is $250 for members and $350 for non-members. Certification is an additional $75.

NCA has also planned a class covering “Extreme Stain Removal/Intensive Bleaching” in the Bronx on March 18.

For more information, call NCA at (212) 967-3002.