“During my time of greatest hardship, I was lifted by the kindness and support of women who gave from their hearts. Inspired by their compassion, I committed myself to building an organization that would help women overcome challenges and achieve independence.”
Sylvia McKinney fled a life of domestic violence with her five children and put herself through school eventually gaining her masters degree. During her journey, she was given help and support by women, so she vowed that she would, in turn, give back to help women who are striving to improve their quality of life. In 1999, Ms. McKinney founded Dress for Success in San Diego, one of over 100 independent affiliates of Dress for Success Worldwide.
“We all walk different paths. I believe all women can overcome their challenges and succeed. My goal is to offer a helping hand along the way; to let women know that they are not alone and that the future holds promise.”
According to the San Diego Economic State of Women (study conducted by Women Give San Diego), the definition of economic health is attaining economic self-sufficiency by meeting daily needs. This means that women need to have access to enough reliable resources to provide for their basic survival without relying on government or outside aid. This self-sufficiency is gained through employment or business earnings. Dress for Success San Diego is helping women gain economic self-sufficiency by providing the support and resources necessary to succeed in an interview, retain a job and build a career.
The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Women Give San Diego recently partnered with Dress for Success San Diego to help them meet their mission by committing $10,000 to provide the much-needed equipment for their Women’s Workforce Center. The funding for this new state-of-the-art facility will provide four individual computer stations with internet access as well as a fax and copy machine, plus additional resources and furnishings.
In the Center, Dress for Success San Diego will be reinforcing the principals that the women learned during their job readiness training by reviewing their resumes, conducting a career assessment to identify their skills and helping them develop a career plan. The Center is open from 9 am to 4pm so that clients can utilize its resources at their convenience. Most of these women do not have access to computers in their home – something we take for granted. Thanks to the funding from Women Give San Diego, all of these services are offered at no cost. The Center offers more than just help attaining a job, the objective is assist clients as they set and strive for higher “life goals” associated with economic self-sufficiency through gainful employment.
Our goal at Dress for Success San Diego is to provide a “framework of supportive services” to facilitate our clients’ transition to social and economic self-sufficiency. Thanks to the grant from WGSD, an essential piece of that framework will soon be in place. Our new computer lab opens up a wealth of resources to the low income women served at our facility, empowering them to succeed in every phase of their journey – from confidence building and resume preparation to job searches, communication, skill building and life-long learning. Computers are ubiquitous to most of us, taken for granted as they facilitate, enhance and simplify our lives. Thanks to WGSD, the playing field is now more level for our clients. The world is at their fingertips.
President, Dress for Success San Diego Board of Directors
Recently, the Dress for Success San Diego facilities moved to the new Family Justice Center (FJC) complex in downtown San Diego. In this new space, they have adequate office space, a room dedicated to the career center, an open area for the boutique, a private dressing room as well as access to a conference room for agency meetings and training. The new FJC partnership enhances their ability to serve victims of domestic violence and the location is more accessible to clients of partner agencies.
The benefit of training and employing a woman has a long lasting reach not just to the women but also to their families. Once children see their moms working, they model this behavior. It breaks the cycle of trans-generational dependence on government assistance. Ultimately, benefiting future generations.
Women Give San Diego is very excited to partner with Dress for Success San Diego by helping women gain self-sufficiency through employment.
Written by WGSD member, Renee Herrell, M.A., CFRE (reneeherrell.wordpress.com)
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