A New Address For Dress For Success Palm Beaches
Boca Raton, FL — Outgrowing the Lantana location where it was based the past six-and-half years, Dress for Success Palm Beaches (DFSPB) has found the perfect fit for housing all of its initiatives including its namesake suiting program for women. The nonprofit is moving to 2459 South Congress (south of Forest Hill), Suite 204, where its core “boutique” will offer head-to-toe wardrobe needs – clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, belts, scarves, undergarments and even makeup – for women who are preparing for a job interview. The new 4,100-square-foot space also will now be furnished with a conference and training room where DFSPB’s several job readiness courses will be conducted. Previously, these intensive 10-week programs that build self-esteem and teach resume writing, interviewing skills and how to leverage online job search platforms have been held off site at nearby colleges or other venues.
According to Executive Director Mary Hart, “DFSPB will be marking its 10th anniversary next April, and we’ve definitely experienced growing pains in recent years, especially having to operate in cramped quarters while increasing our services to helping more than 600 women annually. So, this move is critical. And with nearly triple our previous space, we’ll now be able to add to our program offerings and bring them onsite. Another key benefit is that the Palm Springs location puts us even closer to the western communities of the county where there’s a greater concentration of the underserved population comprising our clientele.”
A swelling volume of donated clothing and accessories also had been taxing the organization’s Lantana operations, limiting times it could accept items without disrupting client shopping and counseling activities. Hart said she anticipates the new space will now allow more flexibility in donation intakes. And, it’s expected to eliminate the costly need for renting several storage units where fashions that are contributed but don’t qualify for the workplace are kept until DFSPB’s annual Shop for Success Pop-Up in October. The flash sale is a major source of revenue for programming.
A first of May occupancy of the new space is estimated.
About Dress for Success
Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to 154 cities in 30 countries. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 1 million women work toward self-sufficiency. The local affiliate Dress for Success Palm Beaches opened its doors in April, 2010, to serve a community where the poverty rate for women is 15%, and in that time has assisted nearly 5,000 women through job readiness courses and its defining wardrobing program.
