Help Local Women Prepare for the Workforce at Our HerCampus Clothing Drive Benefiting My Sister’s Closet
My Sister’s Closet is the name of a local boutique you may have seen around Bloomington, but what you might not know is that it is actually a lot more. My Sister’s Closet is a non-profit organization that prepares young women for the workforce by providing them with appropriate work wear, interview skills, and other necessities so that they might seek employment regardless of their personal situation.
“My Sister’s Closet was founded in 1998 with the belief that all women, no matter what their situation, deserved a safety net of support to encourage their self sufficiency by achieving gainful employment,” explains Jacquelyn Carnes, board secretary for My Sister’s Closet. “Our mission has grown to help women be the most prepared they could be to enter the workforce or step up into better jobs.”
The organization has evolved from simply providing business wear to disadvantaged women to providing a range of necessary services from local businesses such as salons and interview coaching for women (and now men) who have found themselves in need.
However, the organization is always in need of donors to provide gently used women’s clothing of all kinds, especially business causal and professional apparel. They also seek gently used shoes and accessories, and unused make-up and body care products – the kind of things you would give to your own little sister if she was starting out in the workforce.
If you don’t have anything on hand to donate at the moment, Carnes says there are still ways for you to help out My Sister’s Closet. The organization is always looking for a good set of volunteers, especially now that they are expanding their Bargain Boutique that is set to open in a new location early this June. There is also another way to help out that seems obvious, but you might not have thought of: shop there! My Sister’s is opened to the public Wednesday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and has extended hours on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. They love to see new shoppers come through the doors because every dollar you spend is a dollar that goes to help a potentially at risk woman in the community better her situation through employment.
Carnes has very generously made available discounted student tickets priced at $15 to the My Sister’s Closet Mad Hatter Spring Tea Fundrasier going on this Friday, April 29 at Serendipity Martini Bar at 11:30 a.m. Come out and enjoy tapas and tea for a good cause!
Our Her Campus IU clothing drive benefiting the organization will take place the following day, April 30, from noon to 5 p.m. on the lawn of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. We are asking that you donate your gently used business and casual apparel, as well as any unused make-up or body products you may have lying around. Come out, donate, and help a sister out!