Connecting Beyond the Walls
WELCOME TO THE DAILY DOSE!
Today’s word of hope comes from our own Nikki Byers, Interim Minister for Missions.
Dress for Success’ mission is to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and life.
Located in the Winston-Salem Center for Education and the Arts in the John 3:16 building on Sixth Street, Dress for Success is a relatively new agency, so in many ways it is still figuring out how best to serve the women in our community.
So who does Dress for Success serve?
According to Robin Ervin, Director, Dress for Success empowers women from many different backgrounds and circumstances.
- Women in their twenties and thirties who are interviewing for their first jobs.
- Women in their late forties and fifties who have been out of the workforce and need to return to the workforce.
- Young women just graduating from college who do not have the proper business attire.
- Women who have been living in shelters fleeing abusive relationships.
- Women whose careers and lives have stagnated and need to re-energize.
The services can be customized for each woman’s set of circumstances.
- Some young women may only need professional clothing.
- Some may need interview skills: how should they dress, what questions should they be prepared to answer, what should they ask.
- Some may need support to understand how to navigate the politics of the workplace once they have a job.
- Some may have no idea what direction their employment should take.
- Some may need all of the above.
Dress for Success has taken a pause in their services during this time of the pandemic, which has given them the opportunity to reflect and see how they will expand their services to include additional community partners to best meet the needs of the women who show up at their organization.
Over the past few months, Dress for Success has developed a good partnership with both Authoring Action and the Winston-Salem Street School. As the young women complete these programs, they come to Dress for Success to learn how to seek out job opportunities. This has been one of the great benefits of these organizations being in the same building, developing synergies among the organizations.
How can we at FBC help Dress for Success?
- We can donate clothing, shoes, and jewelry.
- We can volunteer to help coach women.
- We can help sort clothes and jewelry.
If you are interested in helping during this time of the pandemic, ask me about “Empower Her Minute” a program which gives you the opportunity to encourage women by relating a story of your interview experiences.