Have you ever faced a Buffalo winter without a warm winter coat? Have you known what it’s like to avoid going to prom because you can’t afford a prom dress and accessories like all the other students?
Colvin Cleaners, one of WNY’s most well-known and long-standing dry cleaners, has been focused on helping children and adults in WNY have – at no charge – the warm clothing needed to brave a Buffalo blizzard. More recently, they also help teenagers find their dream prom gown through the not-for-profit organizations they created, Coats for Kids and Gowns for Prom.
In this, our inaugural article in our quarterly Small Business newsletter highlighting very special not-for-profit organizations in our community, Chris Billoni, son of Colvin Cleaners’ owner Paul Billoni, takes us behind the scenes to share how Coats for Kids and Gowns for Prom came to life.
Q What first moved you and your family to think beyond providing exceptional dry cleaning services to WNYers?
A Colvin Cleaners has been operating Coats for Kids for over 25 years, and Gowns for Prom for about 20 years. My grandparents, Tony and Josephine Billoni, always talked about giving back to the community. They said, no matter what you’re going through, someone else might be going through something worse than you. I learned it’s important to give back, no matter how busy things are. There is always time to offer financial support, but our family believes it’s more important to offer our time, skills and resources. We all have something we can offer to help others. At Colvin Cleaners, we happen to be really good at cleaning clothes! So, we have two charities that use those skills to help others in need. That’s how Coats for Kids and Gowns for Prom were born.
Q How do you obtain the winter wear and prom apparel that you give away?
A Colvin Cleaners offers FREE Pick Up & Delivery Service for dry cleaning and laundry all over WNY, so the easiest way to donate to Coats for Kids or Gowns for Prom is to leave the donations right at your door for your Colvin Cleaners driver. If you don’t use that service, you can always donate at Colvin Cleaners at 2375 Elmwood Avenue in Kenmore all year long. We also have wonderful partners helping us collect for each charity. Click here for a list of Coats for Kids donation locations. In spite of the name, we accept coats for both kids and adults as well as winter hats, scarves, gloves, boots, etc. If you don’t have donations but still want to contribute, you can shop on our Amazon wish list and the items you purchase will be delivered to our charity. Gowns for Prom donation locations can be found here, or visit our Gowns for Prom Amazon wish list here to purchase and donate a gown that will be shipped directly to Colvin Cleaners.
Q The size and scope of Coats for Kids and Gowns for Prom have increased significantly over the years. How do you make it all happen and still run a successful dry cleaning business?
A We professionally dry clean all donated clothing and then sort it by size. For Coats for Kids, our partnerships with about 100 non-profit organizations and schools enable us to get the clean donations to families who truly need them. These organizations include Friends of Night People, St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy, Ken-Ton Closet, Restoration Society, Cold Spring Bible Chapel Church, and many more. For Gowns for Prom, we accept and dry clean any prom-worthy gown, along with shawls, purses, shoes, etc. We work directly with high schools and guidance counselors to invite their students to come to our huge give-away at the Buffalo Convention Center in downtown Buffalo. Students can sign up for a time slot online and come to our event to try on as many gowns as they would like until they find what they are looking for!
Q Are there other ways in which the community can become involved?
A We have lots of volunteers including family and friends who help us sort the winter items for Coats for Kids, including our Colvin Cleaners staff members. We do have an online form for people wishing to volunteer for Gowns for Prom at the Buffalo Convention Center. Because that event gets bigger and bigger every year, we have about 100 volunteers who help with our gown giveaway.
Q Do you have repeat customers each year? I imagine as children grow, they may need a new coat every year.
A Yes, as children grow, they need new winter items to stay warm. Same with the prom gowns, if someone attends a prom the following year. We encourage people to pay it forward and re-donate the items after they are done with them. We can re-clean and make all of the apparel available to others.
Q Is there one heartwarming story that comes to mind, thinking about all of the children and teens you have met over the years?
A There have been so many stories over the years. I remember one high school student who was looking for a size 20+ prom gown, and we didn’t have many to choose from in that size. We were able to find two of the exact same dress, and our Colvin Cleaners tailors combined them into one dress that fit the student. The student’s face was so happy that it brought tears to everyone’s eyes.
We’ve had guidance counselors contact us because they see the same kids coming to school in sweatshirts and no coats; so we’ve done specific deliveries to those kids so they can pick out a coat, and they are always so appreciative. We have received thousands of thank you cards from families and students over the years.
Q Anything else to add to your story?
A We all have extra things in our homes and closets. If you’re not using them anymore, please donate them to our charities, and we will make sure they get to those who truly need them. Thank you!
For more information, visit their websites: Coats for Kids and Gowns for Prom.
