As part of ‘Festival of You’ we are supporting the great work of Dress for Success – a national charity serving Australian women in need, with the goal to empower them to rebuild their job search skills and re-enter the workforce.
WE WANT YOUR HANDBAGS!
As part of Festival of You, we are running a Handbag drive – collecting lightly used handbags you may no longer need to give to Australian women in need who are looking to return to the workforce.
You can find further details on our handbag drive below. You can drop off your handbags at the in-centre collection point located XXXXXXX between XX/XX – XX/XX of October.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where can we donate our handbags?
We are collecting handbags in centre for all of October 2018. Look out for the collection box in centre and we will kindly pass on all donations directly to Dress for Success.
What kind of handbags are you collecting?
As Dress for Success is focused on providing their clients with clothing for job interviews, the workplace and formal occasions, handbags should be suitable for this purpose. All we ask is that the handbags are in good condition (lightly used) and ideally less than 5 years old. Please check that handbags are clean (both inside and out) before you donate them and make sure you have emptied them of all your personal belongings!
Please donate any other handbags not deemed suitable for the workplace to a local charity collection bin.
What does Dress for Success do with the handbags?
Dress for Success offers free clothing, styling and presentation skills to women wanting to enter or return to the workforce or needing good clothing and accessories to present themselves well at an important life event. The majority of handbags donated will be given to women in need for these purposes.
Dress for Success may include some donations in their fashion sales which are held throughout the year to raise critical funds to keep the charity operating.
How can I find out more about Dress for Success?
You can read more about Dress for Success above or visit their website to see all the great initiatives they run to support Australian women in need.
The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of women in crisis by providing top quality donated professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools necessary to help women thrive in work and in life.
Founded by law students at NYU in 1997, Dress for Success has served more than 1 million women over 150 offices in 30 countries worldwide. Dress for Success in Australia was started in Sydney and now has services available nationally. In 2018 they will serve more than 3000 women in NSW alone, and generate over 16,500 hours of volunteer time to process donated clothing, to style clients in showrooms, and to distribute pack and send wardrobe donations to women in rural areas.
Dress for Success provides women a supportive intervention to rebuild the apparel, interview skills and coaching necessary to re-enter the workforce and regain financial independence.
The Dress for Success Program:
- Dress for Success provides clients a judgement-free supportive space, where their personal growth to become job-ready is the central concern.
- They are provided at no cost, a dressing and accessory service appropriate for job interviews, and a five-day mix and match base wardrobe once they accept a job.
- For many clients this short intervention in rebuilding self-belief will restart their sense of resilience and purpose and set them on a new life path.
- Many DFS clients are mothers who have found themselves alone at the helm of a family who they are challenged to support financially.
- These clients defer their own basic needs to protect their children from the trauma of financial insecurity and the bullying and neglect that may happen as a result.
- In finding stable employment our clients are hoping to redefine themselves as purposeful and engaged in work, to provide the role model necessary for their children to succeed.
- The majority of women served are referred for job readiness support by employment agencies & TAFE counsellors.
- Dress for Success does not receive any government funding, but operates using grants, private donations, and an unparalleled army of clothing donors, volunteer inventory managers and dressing stylists.
Dress for Success believe they provide women with more than just suits. They dress women on the outside and the inside for their professional journey. They provide women with clothing, confidence, career development, network of support as well as the practical skills to succeed in today’s workplace.
100% of the proceeds from ticket sales for all of our YOU sessions will go directly to Dress for Success. For more information, click here.