Onrec Expo 2010, the global recruiting event of the year, to be held in Chicago September 14-16, will support Dress for Success Worldwide, an international not-for-profit organization that helps disadvantaged women achieve economic independence.
Through its sponsorship, Onrec intends to raise awareness of and participation in Dress for Success’ efforts, in Chicago and around the world.
“Onrec is impressed with the work Dress for Success does, and we are proud to support this fine organization,” says Anna Brekka, VP of Onrec North America.
Dress for Success serves job-ready women by referral only from more than 3,000 non-profit organizations including domestic violence agencies, homeless shelters, and job-training programs. Dress for Success provides each woman with a business suit when she has a job interview. When she successfully lands the job, she returns to Dress for Success for up to one week’s worth of business-appropriate separates. She also receives an invitation to join the Professional Women’s Group, Dress for Success’ career development and networking group, and she can participate in other employment retention programs such as the Career Center, mentoring, and career fairs.
The organization serves all women, but 70 percent of its clients are single mothers. For single mothers in the labor force, unemployment increased significantly during the recession. Between 2007 and 2009, the unemployment rate of single mothers jumped from 8 percent to 13.6 percent. It’s worth noting that in the U.S. one-quarter of all children are raised by single mothers.
Dress for Success boasts an impressive success rate: 75 percent of participants in the program have retained their jobs after one year.
And since the annual Onrec conference is held in the great city of Chicago, the sponsorship makes even more sense. Dress for Success will be launching a regional office in Chicago in the fall, and the city is in need of support. Chicago has an unemployment rate higher than the national average, and it is one of the metropolitan areas reporting the highest over-the-year decreases in employment in the country.
“Dress for Success Worldwide is thrilled to receive Onrec’s support at a time when we are launching Dress for Success Worldwide – Central in Chicago. We are a volunteer-driven organization, so there are many ways for corporations and individuals to support our mission,” says Suzanne Elliott, EVP of Resource Development and Strategic Marketing at Dress for Success Worldwide.
