Sometimes the student becomes the teacher.










Don't Miss the Next DFS Connect Open House!

Every first Thursday from 9am to 10am we open our doors to you for an informational presentation, light breakfast and tour - to 'connect' with us and learn about our holistic approach to transforming the lives of our special clients of Dress for Success San Antonio. Click here for invitation or Register Directly Here


JOIN US for An Amazing Event!

There are going to be 30 amazing restaurants at the Taste of Success event on October 28, 2016. Join us and sample their delectable tastes. Remember you can vote for your favorite to help them win best Savory, Sweet or Libation.  Get Your Tickets Here
 
Thank you Valero Energy Foundation, Dowd Bennet, and Estella Avery for their sponsorships of our Taste of Success Gala event.

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In This Issue
MakeoversMutual Makeovers That Are More Than Skin Deep

Robbye P. Floyd, Interim Executive Director
I was witness last week to a transformation.

If you have had the opportunity to attend one of our DFS Connect Open House events (DFS Connect Invitation), you will remember seeing our "Transformation Mirror" in the women's dressing room when you toured our facility.  You will recall hearing Phyllis or Emily talk about the perceptible transformations they behold each time a client who came in to our offices feeling defeated and demoralized sees herself in that mirror wearing a well-fitting professional ensemble - often for the first time in her life.  You will have smiled and nodded your head in personal identification with what they described because you have experienced transformational moments in your own life.  Or, maybe you could just logically understand the concept.

Last week, a young woman was brought in by her caseworker from one of our referral agencies on sort of an emergency basis.  The young woman was climbing her way out of a very challenging situation with the caseworker's help, having already found a job at a call center, but in need of housing and child care for herself and her seven children ranging from infancy to 10 years.  She had the job, but she had nothing to wear to work, nowhere to live, and nowhere for her children to be adequately cared for while she worked.  She was brought to Dress for Success San Antonio to take care of the "nothing to wear" issue so she could start her job this week.

Let me just tell you:  The change in that downtrodden young lady, from going in to the dressing room to coming out and seeing herself in our mirror looking stylish and professional, was literally right in front of our eyes.  In a matter of seconds, her posture changed, the way she carried herself changed, the expression on her face changed, and she became downright giddy with the excitement of previously unforeseen potential in her life.  As I watched her model outfit after outfit - happily absorbing constructive feedback from Phyllis, Emily, her caseworker, and me, as to fits, colors, styles, and the like, and marveling over how professional and empowered and downright pretty she had not known she could look-a feeling of transformation washed over me to the point of tears.  She was absolutely joyful, and co-experiencing her joy made me feel a profound joy of my own.

Yes, we were teaching her.  But, equally important, she was teaching us.  We were imparting our knowledge and resources.  She was imparting the importance for all of us to consistently look at ourselves and the world through a lens of pure joyfulness, abundance, and purpose.  We were giving her some work clothes and some ideas she and her caseworker could pursue for child care and other resources.  She was reminding us to be constantly aware of the little things we experience each day for which we should be grateful, of all the things we take for granted that so many others have never known, and of our own capacity for giving even the smallest part of ourselves and our personal resources to make a monumental impact on each other, on our community, and on the world around us.

That young woman left with her caseworker a changed person - wearing her favorite of the outfits we gave her so that her children could see how great she looked and it would fill them with hope.  We expect that, once she gets her emergency needs met, she will be back to work with our remarkable Client Services staff on setting and pursuing career goals whose accomplishment will take her to the next level of self-empowerment and meaningful self-sufficiency in her life and the lives of her children.  And think of the example she will set for them!  
EmilyPerspectives on Learning

Emily Meister, Client Services Manager
"I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  Maya Angelou.  

I never thought my career path would allow me to do what I love to do (and ultimately do best) which is to teach. Granted, I may not be a traditional teacher, but every time a client comes through our doors, I see the relationship as a chance to teach her. To teach, I have to be open to learn lessons from our amazing clients. Being a teacher is very much about being a student.

I teach the Going Places Network (GPN) seminar. I love it when lightbulbs start to go off that have been switched on by a supportive environment. I love it more when I am humbled by women who are braver than I will ever be. I often think about the lives of our clients and how they were never taught how to find a job or how to dress professionally. But how could they, when they are just trying to survive? The women who come here are resilient, and no matter how tough life becomes, they are willing, fast learners who teach me something every week.  
 
What I love about Dress for Success San Antonio is that there is no judgment. What matters most is how we make our clients feel. It is not if someone takes my résumé advice, or whether she was perfect at an interview. I want clients to remember, above all else, that we care about them. Over and over, the women I see every day teach me one invaluable lesson, a simple lesson that people spend years trying to figure out. Here it is:  it is never too late to change your life. Never. As long as you are able to take a breath, you can change your life.   
 
ClothesSometimes It Is the Clothes

Thank you so much to Harland Clarke, AccentureChase Bank and the San Antonio office of Wortham Insurance for hosting suit drives in July for Dress for Success San Antonio. Many thanks to Cato Spring Branch for your continuous donations of shoes, clothing and jewelry. Your contributions to our inventory of professional clothing are so valuable to our clients.

ThanksKeeping It Cool

Thanks to our board member Lory DuMenil and her in-laws Sharon and David DuMenil for the donation of the double door refrigerator. It will go a long way to helping us better preserve food. Dress for Success of San Antonio thanks you all for your kind support. 


Keeping Us Organized

Thank you - Marquis E. Whittington Attorney At Law, for the donation of the desks. We will be using them for our staff and in the training room for mock interviews. Dress for Success San Antonio appreciates your continued support.


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Dress for Success San Antonio | 210.737.1515 | Email | Website
600 N. Frio Street, San Antonio, TX 78207
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Our special thanks goes to Five Star Cleaners who graciously takes donations on our behalf at any of their 17 San Antonio locations.

Programs and services partially funded by the City of San Antonio


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