Lean In Canada & Dress for Success Toronto

As we all embark on a new year, we’re reflecting on the past and setting goals for the months to come. In order to put our best foot forward, we want to feel empowered both mentally and physically, and feel that how we present ourselves reflects all that we want to achieve.

Dress for Success Toronto is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower 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 2009, they have served over 10,000 women in Toronto.

During the month of February, Lean In Canada will be partnering with Dress for Success Toronto by collecting clothing donations at our February 21st event at the AGO (please see below for clothing requirements). If you’re unable to donate clothing at the event, but would still like to support Dress for Success Toronto, we’ll also be collecting monetary donations.

Donation link: https://www.gifttool.com/donations/Donate?ID=1985&AID=5002

Clothing donations will be made to Dress for Success Toronto following the Feb 21st event.

Dress for Success Toronto statistics:

• The international Dress for Success group has helped 1,000,000+ women around the world work towards self-sufficiency
• The global organization started in 1997, the Toronto entity started in 2009
• Nearly 150 cities in 23 countries
• Who DFST servess:
  • Women from all ethnicities and races
  • Women aged 18 to 60, with the majority aged 18 to 35
  • Women living in poverty
  • Single mothers, raising an average of 2-3 children
  • Women with all levels of education; more than 80% of DFST women have post-secondary education
  • Women who are newcomers to Canada, with 47% having lived in Canada for fewer than 5 years
  • Serves 1,300 local women every year
  • 35% of women find work in less than a year of participating in DFST
  • All programs are lead by experts who are professionals in their respective fields
  • 300+ active volunteers
  • 70% of women in DFST’s professional women’s groups are still employed one year after becoming members

Clothing specifications:

• All clothing must:
  • Be brand new or gently-worn at most
  • Not have any tears, rips, stains, etc.
  • Be work-appropriate (no mini-skirts, ripped jeans, etc.)
  • Laundered or dry-cleaned prior to being dropped off
• Professional work attire/elements (not limited to the below options):
  • Suit blazers
  • Dress pants
  • Suit skirts
  • Work-appropriate dresses
  • Cardigans
  • Pantyhose (preferably still in packaging)
  • Heels and flats (many people have issue whereby they cannot wear heels)
  • Jewellry
  • Portfolio folders to carry resumes, cover letters, notepads, etc.
  • Brand new notebooks
  • Wallets, purses, and bags
  • Brand new makeup
• Especially in need of at the moment:
  • Outerwear, scarves (since the cold weather is upon us)
  • Plus-size and petite-size clothing, including shoes
• Other:
  • DFST serves the LGBTQ2S community as well; anything non-gender-specific is acceptable and appreciated
  • We’re also accepting monetary/cash donations