In the past seven years, Eve Galanter has helped collect close to 4,700 pieces of business clothing – but you won’t see her on Hoarders, nor would anyone say that there’s anything pathological about her “hobby.”
Indeed, it’s not a fashionista bent that motivates Galanter, but rather a desire to help those who need – not want – to look their best.
As a board member and past president of Wisconsin Women in Government (WWIG), Galanter is once again leading the organization’s April 16-27 drive in support of the YWCA’s Suited for Success program. The program, which provides professional clothing to YWCA clients who need business attire for work or for job interviews, has been a pet project of the WWIG and its collaborator, Klinke Cleaners, for the past several years, following the WWIG’s initial, and somewhat less coordinated, efforts to contribute.
“During our annual scholarship dinner, we began collecting clothing for the YWCA, and the initial efforts required that individuals have their clothes dry-cleaned and bring them to the dinner,” said Galanter. “So you’d see women coming down from office buildings around the square to Monona Terrace as part of a parade with their clothing and cleaning bags. Later, after some conversations, Klinke Cleaners agreed to actually sponsor the clothing drive, and offered their shops as deposit places.”
Now, WWIG and Klinke are gearing up for their eighth year contributing to Suited for Success. Those who want to participate can go to any Klinke Cleaners in the Madison area and donate up to three items of business clothing. Klinke then cleans them, sorts them, and takes them to the YWCA.
While the April 16-27 drive draws a lot of attention each year, Suited for Success is actually a year-round program. In 2011, 314 low-income women received clothing from the YWCA. And in the time WWIG and Klinke have been working together, they’ve collected 4,695 garments. (While WWIG stopped collecting purses and shoes some time ago, YWCA still accepts all types of professional clothing at its Empowerment Center at 3101 Latham Dr. in Madison.)
Given the importance of making a first impression, it’s not too much of a stretch to think that for many women, the program has been the difference between finding a job and staying unemployed.
“Getting that kind of clothing is a big investment,” said Samantha River, volunteer coordinator at the YWCA. “It’s way beyond the ability of many low-income women to do that, and yet they have the skills to have the job. So this allows them to go ahead and apply for jobs and feel confident. When they leave with clothes, they feel really good about themselves, and it changes how they approach employers, because if you go in feeling confident and look like you could potentially go out and do the job, I think it makes a real difference.
“Just last week, I got an email from someone who said, ‘Thank you for everything you do. I just wanted to let you know I got that job.’ So it does happen, and the change in their self-confidence is one of the things that we notice frequently.”
That first impression
While everyone is aware of the importance of making a good first impression during job interviews, some might still be surprised at just how important one’s appearance is.
A study by Frank Bernieri of the University of Toledo showed that people who watched a clip of the first 15 seconds of an interview could reliably predict how a particular candidate would be evaluated after a full 20-minute interview, suggesting that first impressions are almost as important as overall interview performance.
Galanter knows that firsthand. As the president of Galanter Public Affairs Consulting, she’s seen how much a nice suit and the self-confidence that comes with it can help a job candidate.
“I’ve talked to enough people who’ve done interviewing, I’ve done interviewing, and that immediate perception has a pervasive effect on what might transpire over the next 10 or 15 minutes,” said Galanter. “It’s not everything, but that first impression can be significant in determining whether this is the person who is going to become your employee.”
It’s the difference the program makes, says Galanter, that keeps the April clothing drive going year after year.
“Without exception, when spring arrives, either I contact Steve Klinke or Steve contacts me and says, ‘Can we have another go at it?’” said Galanter. “It’s a wonderfully positive collaboration, and when you think about women who are entering or reentering the workforce, going for that first interview having clothes that are suitable, that are appropriate for the interview or for those first few weeks of work when they haven’t had a paycheck, it’s satisfying. And the transformation that you can see in the women who’ve received these outfits and walk away with an outfit and with a purse and with shoes and maybe even stockings – that transformation is a very emotional one for many of them, and certainly for any observer.”
Facts About Suited for Success
While the April 16-27 clothing drive in support of Suited for Success focuses primary on garments (purses and shoes are no longer collected at Klinke Cleaners), the YWCA Empowerment Center collects all sorts of items year-round, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Acceptable donations include the following:
- Professional women’s clothing (cleaned)
- Shoes
- Purses
- Scarves
- Jewelry
- Pantyhose
- New make-up
- Shopping bags with handles
The YWCA reminds donors that it is most helpful if clothing is appropriate for the current season. If you have a large donation, you can call 608-257-1436, option 3, to arrange a drop-off time.
For more information, click here.
Sign up for the free IB Update – your weekly resource for local business news, analysis, voices, and the names you need to know. Click here.
