ATLANTA--Red and black balloons bounced in the breeze over the glass doors of Dress for Success Atlanta. Inside, bouquets and a large white sheet cake iced with the number "10,000" sat on a table. Gift bags nestled under the table. Tamika Green was about to become the ten thousandth woman to be suited at Dress for Success Atlanta. She smiled and joked with her personal shopper, Aundra Stanford, as if they had known each other for years.
The women were assembling two professional interview outfits for Green, complete with shoes, hose and accessories. Green ducked into the dressing room and came out, arms spread, asking for an opinion. Stylist Taiwan Wilcox walked with her to the neat, colorful racks. He recommended a necklace, saying long necklaces can give an illusion of height. "Oh you don't know how short I am! said Green. "I'm five foot one!" She laughed.
"Most of the women are young, so we try to keep it a shopping experience," said Director of Operations Shandra Jamison. The showroom is downright tempting; immaculate, brightly lit, decorated with snappy outfits like a sea green shirt under a cobalt blue jacket with a blue and green scarf and a sparkling brooch. Racks of professional but fashionable shoes cover one wall. Bins of Pur mineral makeup peek from beneath the shirts. Two young women steam an apricot silk blouse. There is no hint of the thrift shop, but Dress for Success helps poor women. The organization has forty five community partners which refer women once they schedule a job interview or start a formal job hunt. The women put together at least two ensembles on the first visit and can return to get three more when they land a job.
Director of Programs Victoria Hook feels empathy for her clients. A young mother came from a battered women's shelter to get her first suit. She told Hook of her battering situation while they chose her job hunting outfits. She had an interview appointment that afternoon, and no way to get there. "I drove her," said Hook. She said she had never done that before, but she felt so connected to her that it didn't seem right to hold back the impulse.
"I've enjoyed my role. It's really rewarding, because I do reflect back on when I was looking for work, and I actually just relate to them. Even though I was not in the same position," she knows how it feels to struggle to become established, said Hook. The Columbus, Ohio native studied fashion merchandising for a year at the start of college, decided she didn't want to work in that field, then finished her degree in business management. "I still ended up where I didn't want to be! I enjoy what I do on the business side, but I also love fashion." The business side of Dress for Success Atlanta seems quite sound. Coca Cola, Turner Broadcasting, The Home Depot, UPS, State Farm, Bank of America, the Junior League, ING, and many more give volunteer, financial and in kind support. Liz Claiborne did a shoe drive for them. L'Oreal gives them new product samples. Local company Spanxx has given them Spanxx from time to time. AmericasMart, a downtown convention center, gives them their showroom space rent free and local silk stocking law firm Alston & Bird gives them legal services. No client pays a penny for the clothes or the services, which include moral support and career development tools.
DIRECTV chose Victoria Hook and DFS as "Hometown Heroes," taping a show about the group for broadcast. The show recognizes people and organizations which give selflessly to others. The "Heroes" show airs every Sunday night at 9:00 pm Eastern and Pacific time.
This is an international program. The mother organization is based in New York. Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands and New Zealand have affiliates. Africa, Mexico and Poland may have the newest ones by the end of the year. The organization grows carefully, making sure that potential affiliates are able to properly carry out the mission. Money, community support, materials and volunteers are necessary.
"Our professional women's group is a program run by our board members," said Hook, adding that the group matches new and current volunteers with projects which interest them. She wants to increase membership in the group by twenty percent this year. They always increase the number of women they serve. The whole process is meant to build professional skills. "We have to teach them that this is a professional appointment. If someone doesn't show up and get the suit, it's almost a guarantee they won't get the job."
Tamika Green showed up, along with Monique Baca and Kizmet Thomas, numbers 10,001 and 10,002. Each woman had her own personal shopper, and all got gift bags, cake, punch, flowers, and applause from Board President Virginia Philip, Board Treasurer Scott Hilsen, Executive Director Elizabeth Kelly and a beaming group of community members and volunteers. The 10,000th suiting "is a huge milestone for the organization. It shows the need for and importance of programs that empower women. Even after 10,000 suitings, we are still meeting a need that grows every single year," said Philip in a news release.
For more information about the organization, please see www.dressforsuccess.org/atlanta
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