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CASE STUDY<br />
Dress for Success<br />
Stockhome, NSW<br />
On Monday 8 March 2010, as part of<br />
International Women’s Day, employees<br />
from our Melbourne and Sydney offices<br />
were encouraged to support the ‘Dress<br />
for Success’ initiative.<br />
Dress for Success is a not-for-profit<br />
organisation which encourages<br />
working women to donate their<br />
old suits, blouses, shoes,<br />
handbags and accessories<br />
to disadvantaged women.<br />
The aim is to provide women who are<br />
re-entering the workforce with suitable<br />
attire for their job interviews.<br />
Our employees were encouraged to<br />
contribute their old work clothes and<br />
accessories to help assist women. Men were<br />
also invited to participate by donating clothes<br />
from their wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters<br />
and friends. Sixty-three bags of clothes<br />
were donated to the Dress for Success<br />
Sydney office in Burwood. These clothes<br />
have gone a long way to helping Dress for<br />
Success meet their 2010 target of dressing<br />
500 women. In addition to this support,<br />
women from across our organisation have<br />
participated in two volunteering days at the<br />
Dress for Success showroom.<br />
Founded in 1997, Dress for Success has<br />
helped more than 500,000 women around<br />
the world. These women include refugees,<br />
newly-arrived migrants, victims of domestic<br />
violence as well as women who have<br />
recently re-entered society after time in<br />
custody. Every client receives an outfit for<br />
her interview and one more outfit when<br />
she receives a role. In addition, Dress for<br />
Success provides a number of employment<br />
retention programs including:<br />
• Professional Women’s Group – Offers<br />
ongoing support as women successfully<br />
transition into the workforce,<br />
• Career Centre – An initiative<br />
that promotes confidence and<br />
professionalism by providing<br />
women career guidance. The centre<br />
also provides practical advice on<br />
presentation and job interview skills,<br />
• Steps to Success – An initiative<br />
which focuses on the first 30 days of<br />
employment, during which newly-hired<br />
women face many potential challenges.<br />
During this time, Dress for Success<br />
volunteers help women prepare for their<br />
new jobs and identify potential barriers<br />
they may encounter in the first few days<br />
of their new job.<br />
Dress for Success is a practical, hands-on<br />
resource which supports some of the most<br />
disadvantaged women in our society. This<br />
initiative not only provides women with the<br />
necessary clothing to re-enter the job force,<br />
it also provides them with the skills and<br />
confidence to do so.<br />
Our employees identified developing skills<br />
and re-training programs for homeless<br />
and disadvantaged people as a key area<br />
of concern for our business. The Dress for<br />
Success initiative provides a much-needed<br />
resource for hundreds of disadvantaged<br />
women in our community and additionally<br />
provides meaningful opportunities for<br />
our employees to volunteer their time<br />
and expertise.<br />
“In April and May 2010 staff from <strong>Stockland</strong><br />
provided two days of volunteer time to<br />
assist with our seasonal stock changeover<br />
– this involved sorting and culling clothing,<br />
packing away summer stock, cleaning<br />
shoes and boots, ironing shirts and tops and<br />
re-stocking with winter clothing. It was hard<br />
work but offered a great opportunity for both<br />
organisations to work co-operatively for the<br />
benefit of disadvantaged women.<br />
Organisations like Dress for Success<br />
Sydney cannot exist without the<br />
assistance of organisations such<br />
as <strong>Stockland</strong>.”<br />
Jen Levy – Dress for Success Sydney<br />
<strong>Stockland</strong> Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report June 2010<br />
67