On Wednesday, September 12th, I had a wonderful interview with Lisa Brown, the advancement director for Dress For Success Cincinnati. She is so amazing!
Straight from the Website for Dress for Success, here is what Dress for Success is about:
What We Do
The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
Founded in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization offering services designed to help our clients find jobs and remain employed. Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and can return for a second suit or separates when she finds work.
Since 1997, Dress for Success has served more than 650,000 women around the world. Each year we reach more than 65,000 women in the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Ireland and the West Indies. All Dress for Success organizations are not-for-profit entities, with Dress for Success Worldwide and its U.S. affiliates having 501(c)(3) charitable status and those outside the U.S. operating as registered charities. Clothing donations and financial contributions made to Dress for Success affiliates within the U.S. are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Dress for Success serves clients by referral only, and women must have an interview scheduled before receiving clothing. Our clients come to us from a continually expanding and diverse group of non-profit and government agencies including homeless shelters, immigration services, job training programs, educational institutions and domestic violence shelters, among many other organizations. Almost 4,500 organizations throughout the world send women to Dress for Success for professional apparel and career development services.
On her initial visit a woman receives a suit appropriate for the industry in which she is interviewing and, if available, accessories. After a woman finds a job she returns to Dress for Success for additional clothing that can be mixed and matched to make several outfits, providing her with the foundation for a professional wardrobe.
While we may be best known for providing suits to women, it is our employment retention programs that are the cornerstone of the organization. Soon after Dress for Success was founded we came to recognize that finding work is only one step in a woman's journey towards economic independence; remaining employed and building a rewarding career are essential if a woman is to become self-sufficient.
To meet the need for services that would help women both find and keep jobs, we established the Professional Women's Group (PWG) program, which offers women ongoing support as they successfully transition into the workforce, build thriving careers and prosper in the mainstream workplace. Once a woman joins the PWG she is a member for life, able to attend meetings at any affiliate throughout the world, and can benefit from additional employment retention and mentoring programs.
Dress for Success also has developed Career Center, an initiative that promotes confidence and professionalism by providing women career guidance, the chance to acquire technology skills and assistance in their job searches.
Another way in which Dress for Success supports women joining or returning to the workforce is through Steps to Success, an initiative that focuses on the crucial first 30 days of employment, during which newly-hired women face many potential challenges. Made possible by the generosity of the National Endowment for Financial Education, the Steps to Success: A Guide to Success in the Workplace publication helps women prepare for their new jobs, identifies barriers they might encounter during their first days, encourages them to plan for their futures and highlights resources that can assist them during this transition, including the Professional Women's Group.
Dress for Success relies on the financial contributions, in-kind donations and volunteer efforts of individuals and companies around the world who are committed to helping women take charge of their lives. Visit our Support Dress for Success page to learn how you can get involved with Dress for Success.
Now that you get how the main Dress For Success started, you can get involved in your city/country as well. Especially my hometown Cincinnati and here's what that city is about(straight from the website):
The mission of 4th Street Boutique is to financially support Dress for Success Cincinnati.
4th Street Boutique opened in 2002 to provide an outlet for surplus and non-interview appropriate clothing donated to Dress for Success Cincinnati. Since then, it has grown into a high end thrift store that is able to provide financial support to Dress for Success Cincinnati. 4th Street Boutique’s support allows Dress for Success Cincinnati to offer interview clothing and work attire to clients as well as one on one career development and job retention programs.
4th Street Boutique offers new and gently used women’s clothing, shoes and accessories at affordable prices. Weekly specials, monthly events, unique backroom designer sales, and personable staff and volunteers make 4th Street Boutique a wonderful place to shop. Every time you shop at 4th Street Boutique, you are benefiting Dress for Success Cincinnati.
Indulge yourself in this guilt free shopping and support our daily fundraiser!
The websites are: http://www.dressforsuccess.org/
http://www.dfscincy.org/
http://www.4thstreetboutique.org/
I got to do an interview with Lisa Brown, and I am going to upload the audio interview I did with her and there are 3 parts to it, it was such a wonderful interview :)
http://youtu.be/5ZzhtrVaxIc
http://youtu.be/-m1ZbM6EFbk
http://youtu.be/mXhPU1Kpv6g
Here is the video portion, this is the tour of Dress for Success/4th Street Boutique
http://youtu.be/X99W4ywMvZw
Here is a separate interview with a couple of the other volunteers for 4th Street boutique:
http://youtu.be/5ERP39H92Y8
Had such a wonderful time meeting these people :) they are fabulous!
some dates to keep in mind for the 4th street boutique:
9/27-9/29 is the Backroom Designer sale
10/24-10/27 is the Designer/Holiday Sale
So definitely check those out!
I hope you all enjoyed this post.
Until next time!
-CR
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