Dress for Success

I recently learned about the non-profit organization called Dress for Success. What a cool idea!

The basic idea is to help disadvantaged women enter or re-enter the workforce. If you're in a position where you have very little resources it might be difficult to get a great job because you can't dress properly for a professional interview.

This is where Dress for Success comes in. They provide an initial interview outfit plus shoes and accessories and if you get a job you can come back and get additional clothing for a week's worth of wardrobe changes.

In addition they offer a lot of great employment counseling programs to help women achieve success. I was reading about their program and it sounds incredible! I can't believe I didn't know about this before.

The group has many affiliate offices around the world. So, here is a list of action items from minimal to community-level committment:

1. Go through your closet to see if there is anything you can donate. (Please read their donation guidelines first!)
   
2. Have a "Dress for Success" party with all your friends and co-workers. Have them all bring one outfit to the party to donate.
   
3. Organized a suite drive! Work with friends and other volunteers to go through the community and get as many suits as possible. Check with your local affiliate first to make sure they are taking suit donations at this time. Alternatively you can do a shoe drive or an accessory drive. You might consider coordinating your suit drive with S.O.S. Weekend which is in February.
   

(Of course, you can always donate money, too! Dress for Success is a four-star charity.)