*****Author’s Note: The following post was published on June 17, 2018 and has not been updated since its initial publication. As this post was written as part of a bigger, older project that has already ended, I do not intend on updating this post with new information about the organizations featured in it. This means some or all of the information in this or other posts in this series may be outdated by the time you read this post.
If you need the latest information on these organizations, it is your responsibility to conduct that research on your own. These posts can be used as a jumping off point for that research, but it is still your responsibility to look up these organizations on your own to verify whether or not their services still exist or will actually work for your needs.
***This blog post is part of a weekly series titled #SignalBoostSunday. This series will highlight organizations and social causes that are of importance and provide assistance to the Greater Atlanta area. ***
For this week’s installment of #SignalBoostSunday we’ll be looking at two local organizations that serve our community through fashion.
Dress for Success is an international non-profit organization that works to assist low-income and unemployed women in finding employment and developing their careers.
Dress for Success is best known for providing job interview and workplace appropriate outfits free of charge for the clients they serve. This service is called the “Interview and Employment Suiting” program. Dress for Success Atlanta provides each client two complete outfits for job interviews (including shoes and accessories) and up to three more outfits to be worn for work once they secure employment.
In addition to clothing assistance, Dress for Success Atlanta also offers other initiatives such as: professional development workshops, computer skills training, and a professional networking group known as the Professional Women’s Group.
The PWG works to help Dress for Success clients navigate and thrive in their new workplaces once they find employment, educating them on topics such as corporate culture, financial literacy and workplace communication.
2.) free fab’rik
Fab’rik is a chain of boutique clothing stores that focuses on women’s fashion.
free fab’rik is the non-profit version of the clothing store. The main service free fab’rik offers is its Free Spree program.
A Free Spree is what it sounds like: a free shopping spree. Free Sprees are two-hour events in which free fab’rik volunteers visit shelters and other places where there are young women in need. These volunteers act as stylists and help the women pick out outfits.
During the event, the volunteers get to know the young women they’re assisting, and the young women are styled and get to choose five items to create an outfit that they then get to keep. They also get to model their outfits in a runway show held during the Free Spree event.
The next Free Spree is slated for Wednesday, June 20.
Anita M. George: Journalist, Writer 