Dressing Up

I worked my first shift in the suiting boutique at Dress for Success last week (#87).  It was a two hour shift (one of the things I love about DFS is that their volunteer shifts are always relatively short, so you don't feel like you have to spend the entire day there!), and they schedule one client each hour.  This was truly a "see one, do one, teach one" kind of situation, and after a short tour of the space, I watched and helped out with the first lady.  She had an interview with McDonald's scheduled for the weekend, and she was not at all interested in the idea of wearing a suit to McDonald's, especially since she would be riding a bus in the 100+ degree heat!  Can't say that I blamed her, but the DFS pro assured her that wearing a suit would up her professional factor by leaps and bounds and it could be the ticket to a higher starting salary or even a place on the management track.  Each woman gets a suit (or jacket and pants/skirt separates if sizing is an issue), blouse, shoes, purse, hose, two pieces of jewelry, and two cosmetic items.  After seeing herself in the complete outfit, our first lady decided that she would actually wear her new suit for her interview!  It was subtle, but it was still pretty amazing to watch her attitude soften and her confidence increase over the course of that hour.  After they decide on a complete look, the staff takes the woman's picture which she then gets to keep -- both as a reference for what her look should be and to show her just how great she looks!  You could see how pleased she was with her final look as she studied the photo.  Then everything gets bagged up nicely, and they are on their way.

For the second client, I was on my own!  They generally schedule up to five client/volunteer pairs for any given time shift, so you're not in the boutique by yourself, but everyone is far too busy to really be involved in what you're doing.  Thankfully, this lady was very friendly and very patient with me!  We started out with a little rough patch in finding a good size for her, but after that, it all went well.  I almost forgot to have her pick out her cosmetics, but the woman in charge was impressed that that was the only thing I forgot (which made me laugh!  after all, she was the one who sent me off on my own after observing only one other appointment!).  The lady loved the suit she found, and she was honestly asking my opinion about which jewelery would be best and how she should wear her hair.  It felt a little like just going shopping with a friend.

The whole thing was over so quickly that I didn't get much chance to dwell on what was going on, but looking back on it, it was a great experience.  The primary reason I wanted to volunteer somewhere rather than just donating money was to be able to feel like I was truly doing something helpful.  This absolutely fits the bill completely!  I actually get to talk to these women and not just hand them something, but help them decide for themselves what makes them feel good and confident.  And hopefully that will ultimately help them have a better life in the long run.  I get to be a part of that process.  It's a good feeling.  And I can't wait to go back.  (already scheduled another shift for later this month!)

Oh, and I finally remembered to collect all my donations and drop them off while I was there (#89), so there's another one crossed off!