Pay It Forward!

We hope everyone who visits this website, including our brides, customers, and others, will help spread the word about us to lower income churches and community centers in the area (click  HERE for a sample of how to do this).

Volunteer! We love our volunteers!

St. Anthony's Bridal is proud and blessed to operate solely on the basis of volunteer generosity. Volunteer at one of our Centers!

When?
Bethesda - Saturdays from 10am-12pm (We often go out to lunch afterwards)
St. Louis - Saturdays from 12pm-2pm (We often go out to lunch afterwards)

Who? Many of our volunteers are past or current brides. Basically, we appreciate volunteer help from any woman who shares a heart for helping brides avoid debt and stress in planning their wedding.

Volunteer Today by E-mailing Your Local Center Director!
In Maryland, please e-mail Saskia via e-mail at msmalemar@gmail.com
In Missouri, please e-mail Kristin via e-mail at kristinhjo@yahoo.com

Our Centers cannot serve brides if there are no volunteers for every Saturday: Bethesda operates from 10am-12pm. St. Louis operates from 12pm-2pm. We encourage our current and past brides, if you appreciate our services, give back to other brides by donating just one Saturday morning to helping a St. Anthony's Bridal Center.

Donations
"What's the greatest nation in the world? Do-nation." ~Joe Pesci in With Honors

How Can You Help?

- Cash Donation
- Dress Donation
- Linens Donations
- Silverware & Flatware Donations
- Silk Flower Donations
- Reception Item Donations
- Commercial Space Donation
- eBay Missionfish Donation (established seller percentage or group month-long event)

Cash Donations:

Where does your generous donation go?
- Pays rent for our Centers to continue their monthly lease
- Brings our inventory of dresses to area bridal events
- Advertises our charitable services to brides who will greatly benefit from St. Anthony's Bridal services

Thank You To Our Current and Past Cash Donors!
Robert P. Jamison (of Robert P. Jamison Real Estate, Inc.,  Poolesville, MD),
Capitol Pool Service, Inc (Bethesda, Maryland),
Vincent Terlep Foundation (Rockville, MD),
Jane Deschak, and
All of our kind, one-time donors

Dress Donations:

Donate your dress today! E-mail Saskia at msmalemar@gmail.com to schedule a dropoff at our Bethesda Center. Not in the area? Fill out the donation receipt and send the dresses to any of our locations.

Where do I drop off my donation? 
Bethesda Bridal Center, Saturdays, 10am-12pm, at 4920 Wyaconda Road, Bethesda, MD 20852
St. Louis Bridal Center, Saturdays, 12pm-2pm, 2136 Woodson Road, Overland MO 63114

***Please remove the gown from its storage box before you bring it in. Please note that our landlord will not accept donations on our behalf, so Saturday mornings are the only possible drop off time.

By Mail: You may also mail donations of wedding gowns, prom gowns, and formal dresses.

To Maryland: 
St. Anthony's Bridal 
We are unable to accept mailed dress donations in Maryland at this time. Check back soon for an updated address. E-mail us or come to our Bethesda Bridal Center to drop off your dress. 
*Include a SASE in order to receive a tax deductible receipt for your generous donation.

To Missouri:
St. Anthony's Bridal, c/o Kristin Johnson
12938 Ferntop Lane
Creve Couer, MO 63141
*Include a SASE in order to receive a tax deductible receipt for your generous donation.

All donations should be accompanied by a receipt filled out by the donor (keep a copy for your records, we keep copies for the IRS). Click here for the RECEIPT form. Thank you

Donate Wedding Gowns: We have many lovely donations of beautiful wedding gowns. Most bridal shops and boutiques are able to contribute large numbers of dresses to us from their overstock and past-season inventory. We also accept donations from past brides and from thrift shops. As a 501(c)3 organization, we are able to offer our donor shops a $150 tax deductible receipt for each dress donated. As the value to our organization, no matter the dress, is $150.

Thank You To Our Bridal Shops & Boutiques for Their Generous Donations!
Cameo Bridal (Baltimore, MD)
Juliet's Bridal (Parkville, MD)

Donate Prom Gowns: High school students often donate their dresses after their prom. They realize the privilege they had in affording a beautiful, stylish gown, and they desire to share that special look with future prom attendees who may not be able to afford a dress. We accept dress donations from individuals and companies. As a 501(c)3 organization, we are able to offer our donors a $150 tax deductible receipt for each dress donated as the value to our organization, no matter the dress, is $150.

Donate Formal Wedding Party Gowns: How many past bridesmaids ever wear their dresses again? Has your flower girl outgrown her dress? We accept formal dress donations from individuals and companies. As a 501(c)3 organization, we are able to offer our donors a $150 tax deductible receipt for each dress donated as the value to our organization, no matter the dress, is $150.

Donate Linens, Flatware & Silverware, Silk Flowers, Cake Decorating Supplies, Favors: Past brides realize the privilege they had in affording a beautiful, stylish wedding at an unbeatable (free) cost, and they desire to share that with future brides as well. We accept reception-related donations from individuals and companies. As a 501(c)3 organization, we are often able to offer our donors a tax deductible receipt for items received.

Commercial Space Donations:

Donate a Portion of Your Space! We have dresses and reception item inventories. If you have ~1000 sf of space to spare, or to lease at a greatly reduced cost, we are tremendously grateful.

eBay Missionfish Donations:

Seller Donations: If you are an individual or company that sells on eBay, you may donate 10% of your proceeds to a charitable organization of your choice. Choose St. Anthony's Bread, Inc. under Missionfish, and you may even receive a deduction from your selling fees! Everyone wins with this option! Let us know you love St. Anthony's Bridal and want to help through your eBay account. We also want to thank you and include you in our community of volunteers.

eBay Missionfish Month: Have your group (office, neighborhood, church, etc.) sell all the goods gathering cobwebs from around their houses, and designate us, St. Anthony's Bread, Inc., to receive 50% of the proceeds. Jumpstart the Missionfish conversation. We'll help you get things going. Contact St. Anthony's Bridal Executive Director, Melanie Cameron via e-mail at unity@engagedcatholics.com

Fundraising for St. Anthony's Bridal!

Host a Fundraising Event! Our St. Louis, MO Center held a Trivia Night & Silent Auction in November, 2009. The evening was fun-filled and raised over $3,000. Such events make it possible to pay our lease so we may continue to make our inventory available to so many brides.

Dress Drive: Have us come to you! We'll bring a portion of our inventory to your event, whether it's a Bridal Expo, Community Center, or Church, Brides want to hear about us! We make their hopes for a splendid wedding and celebration possible. Click HERE for details on hosting a dress drive for St. Anthony's Bridal.

Restaurant Fundraiser: Holding your rehearsal dinner at a restaurant? Have a favorite restaurant that's special to the two of you? Print out a receipt to give to the restaurant so they may receive a tax-deductible credit.

Bake Sale: Grab 5 or 6 friends, bake a dozen cookies, and request to sell them outside of church, the local grocer, a bridal event, etc.

Where are you involved?

Think about the many places where you are connected with your community, your family, your friends, and your peers. All of these networks are potential fundraising groups. Do you enjoy having parties? Do you like being involved? Do you have a heart for serving?

Think of what group of people you would like to hold a fundraiser with:
- neighborhood
- city
- local businesses
- your place of work (if not a conflict of interest)
- family
- friends
- school
- activity group, club, member organization
... and the networks in which you partake.

Contact us, and we'll guide you along the way to a fun, successful, fulfilling fundraiser event.

Please click here to see our latest Awards  given out to honored Volunteers and Donors.  These will now be awarded quarterly and kept on our website. 

Pay It Forward!

We hope everyone who visits this website, including our brides, customers, and others, will help spread the word about us to lower income churches and community centers in the area (click HERE for a sample of how to do this).