Succeeding: Dress For Success program reaches 2,000 clients
- Details
- Published on Monday, 01 April 2013 17:16
- Written by Paul Gordon
Despite earning a graduate degree from Illinois State University, job hunting hasn't been easy for Nadia Lam.
That's why the 42-year-old woman who is gearing up for an interview at Bradley University turned to the Dress For Success program through Peoria's Friendship House to get some help.
That included some big-name help finding the right outfit on Monday as the 2,000th client served by the Peoria Dress For Success program that started in 1999. State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, who is undoubtedly one of the most stylish members of the Illinois General Assembly, stopped by to help the program celebrate the fete and to be Lam's "personal shopper" for the day.
"This is exciting to come here to help someone do her first suiting at Dress For Success because it is so important for a woman to look her best when she goes for an interview,"
Gordon-Booth said. Not only does it help in the eyes of the employer "but in the confidence a woman feels when she looks good, when she looks professional. It makes quite a difference."
Peoria is one of only 120 cities worldwide to have its own Dress for Success program, said local director Sarah Fletcher. But it is also one of the smallest, so reaching the 2,000 clients plateau is significant. It also is proof the local program is becoming better known through various events and fundraisers; it took only four years to reach the second thousand clients whereas it took about 10 to reach the first thousand.
Fletcher said she believes the "Going Places" program recently started worldwide through funding by Wal-Mart will help bring more clients in. Lam went through the program, which first teaches women how to write resumes, cover letters, how to handle themselves in interviews and takes them through mock job interviews and critiques them.
The clothing is the final step, helping women look good for those interviews with clothing and accessories donated to Dress For Success.
Fletcher said "Going Places" is conducted three times a year and is open to any woman who needs help finding work. "One of the wonderful things about Dress For Success is that there really is no typical client. We serve women with no degree to women with graduate degrees, like Nadia, whether they are entering the workforce for the first time or re-entering the workforce. Most are single mothers but we will work with any client and meet them where they're at in their life. What's important is that they are ready to join the workforce," she said.
The Peoria program gets referrals from 70 area social agencies and employment programs and has grown to the point of serving more than 300 clients a year. Gordon-Booth was asked to be Nadia Lam's shopper because she is a frequent donor to the program. "That's because I believe in it and I love the benefit I get in knowing I am helping a woman feel the confidence she needs to succeed, the feeling I get from watching someone begin to believe in themselves. To me that is even more important than putting nice clothes on her," she said.
Such a transformation could be seen on Monday while Gordon-Booth helped Lam find an outfit for her petite frame, talking with her all the while about posture and feeling confident. By the time the suiting was completed, including some earrings, a necklace and even some eye liner, Lam went from seeming almost intimidated by the presence of a state representative and a room full of media to appearing confident and a woman who could easily have fit in a corporate board room.
"I learned so much through this program, including how to dress professionally. I am more confident now than I've ever been," Lam said.
"This program is really important in that it helps women in so many ways," she added, enthusiastically saying she would encourage other women to participate in Dress For Success.
Lam said she also wants to pay back the organization after she gets a job and can help others. "I really want to do something to give back to Dress For Success. I want to help other women the way I was helped," she said.
Fletcher said Dress For Success has several fundraisers through the year, including a luncheon featuring guest speaker U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, on April 19. But donations of professional clothes, shoes and accessories are accepted any time. "We always have a need," she said.
CAPTIONS (Photos by Paul Gordon):
State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, helps Nadia Lam with earrings to complement a business suit Lam received Monday from the Peoria Dress For Success program. Gordon-Booth, a frequent contributor to the program, was asked to helped honor Lam as the 2,000th client served locally since the program began in 1999.
Nadia Lam looks over a sweater as a possible part of an outfit she could wear to a job interview, an outfit given her by the Peoria Dress For Success program. State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, right, helped Lam find an outfit to celebrate her being the 2,000th client served by the Peoria office.
Nadia Lam poses in the suit she and State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth chose for her to wear to an upcoming job interview. The suit was donated through Peoria's Dress For Success program. Lam was the 2,000th client served by the program, which started in 1999.
