Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Help Disadvantaged Women Dress for Success

At a Women in Lodging (WIL) Luncheon, held last fall during the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. (AH&LA) Conference in New York, AH&LA and Dress for Success Worldwide announced a national partnership to build awareness of and solicit donations to support Dress for Success Worldwide's primary mission of promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged women. Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide, and Vicki Gordon, chair of AH&LA’s WIL Executive Council, officially kicked off the new flagship initiative of AH&LA’s WIL Connect membership category, which includes a series of fundraising events and Hospitality Career Day suit drives at hotels across the United States this year. One event is being held today at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia. Another one is planned June 25 at the Hilton Chicago.

At each Hospitality Career Day event, local WIL Connect members host a panel outlining the diverse career paths in the lodging industry, conduct sessions on building interviewing skills and professional image, and pair up with a Dress for Success client for mock interviews. Also at each Career Day event, job searchers are given an opportunity to select an interview suit to take home and use during future interviews. The suits are made available at no cost to the job seeker.

To date, Dress for Success has assisted more than 500,000 women referred by approximately 2,750 diverse nonprofit and government agencies including homeless shelters, immigration services, job training programs, educational institutions, and domestic violence shelters, among others. It is great to see AH&LA and WIL get involved in Dress for Success events. Sometimes a suit can make all the difference in the world in generating self-confidence and finding a job.

For more information on Dress for Success events and AH&LA’s WIL initiatives, visit the AH&LA WIL Connect Website.

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