Charity Choice Monday – Dress for Success Seattle – Real Change 2

As a Professional Organizer, I’ve often brought women’s business and designer attire to Dress for Success Seattle on behalf of clients. BUT I thought Dress for Success’s Seattle branch closed in 2016. I have seldom been more agreeably surprised when I learned, through Real Change‘s Emerald City Resource Guide, that Dress for Success is OPEN.

THANK YOU REAL CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!

Saved by a tenacious group of its volunteers, Dress for Success is still at the YWCA on 5th. Equally encouraging, it partners with a Who’s Who of charitable agencies, including Brides for a Cause, which collects wedding dresses for resale to gift the funds to other non-profits. Brides for a Cause is on my “gotta go investigate” list – some of my clients are a bit wishful about letting go of wedding items.

I’m quoting the Dress for Success Seattle homepage:

“Our Vision

Our vision is a world where women do not live in poverty. We strive for a world where all women are financially independent, are treated with dignity and respect and are directly impacting their lives and those of their families. We aspire to a world that fully harnesses the power of women and recognizes their role in economic sustainability.

Our Purpose

Our purpose is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty. Dress for Success is part of a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures.

We provide each client with professional attire to secure employment, but we are about much more than simply a new outfit. Besides physically equipping the client with apparel and accessories, our programs furnish her with a confidence that she carries forever and the knowledge that she can actively define her life, the direction she takes and what success means to her…”

Clothing can be invested with intense symbolism: reminders of a successful career, a younger, more active, more engaged life, motherhood. It can be difficult to let go. A purposeful donation can make the difference between keeping something or not. Dress for Success earns a look.