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Hello Supporters & Friends:
There’s no typical day at DFSPB. I’ll give you an example of a recent “day in the life of…” that occurred a few weeks ago.
It was a Wednesday morning. Week three of our Road to Success job readiness program was in session with 12 participants in attendance in the training room, two virtually joined via Zoom, and five volunteer mentors were on site, along with our facilitator and guest presenters. On my agenda was the need to complete two or three grant applications. I was in the thick of that work when one of our volunteers asked to have a word.
I was stunned when she informed me that the RTS group had just learned that three of its participants had no housing – two were sisters who’d been living in their car with their children, and the third person, a 23-year-old, was escaping a sex trafficking situation that had escalated to threats and verbal abuse. We instantly jumped into action; the grant applications would have to wait. In the matter of about four hours, pivoting to reach out to every possible professional resource and personal friend in the local nonprofit world, we thankfully managed to find housing for these women. I tell you this because currently, finding emergency housing in Palm Beach County is next to impossible. The shortage is chronic, troubling and approaching catastrophic levels. To secure immediate aid within hours was a coup!
I tell you this, as well, because you’re probably asking why are we spending our time finding housing for our clients if it’s not part of the Dress for Success Palm Beaches mission? We’re compelled to act not only because it’s the humane and compassionate thing to do, but because it absolutely embodies our promise to empower the women we serve. Worrying about where to safely park the car tonight…get the children washed, dressed and ready for school in the morning…how to escape the brutality of an abuser…these detract from her focus on finding a job…or exuding confidence in an interview…or conveying her employability and determination to work.
Our name – Dress for Success – tells only part of the story of what our organization does. (See “The Whole Story” video we aired at Style for Hope in March, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dscdAoYsZ20).
And this kind of May day (no pun intended) that I just described is just the tip of the iceberg of what DFSPB does. When they’re faced with dire need, we’ve helped clients get utility bills paid, scholarships underwritten, and costs for travel, gas and grocery subsidized. We recently helped connect a client to receive a free car, and another to receive a bicycle to support their genuine tenacity to get to work. And, of course, beyond dispensing clothing, through our PWG (Professional Womens Group) program we provide valuable daily living advice delivered by experts in banking and finance, law, IT, real estate, health and fitness.
I guess you could say the only thing typical about a DFSPB day is that the commitment to help is never-ending and knows no bounds.
Forever grateful,
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