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“We don’t give women confidence. We help them find the confidence that they already have,” says Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock, communications and development manager for Dress for Success Pittsburgh.
This Pittsburgh-based nonprofit focuses on empowering women who are entering and returning to the workforce across the region. The Dress for Success Pittsburgh team is made up of 16 women and many volunteers supporting the community through clothing donations, mobile boutiques, pop-up events, and professional development opportunities.
I sat down with Calynn to learn more about how Dress for Success helps women thrive in work and in life.
Dress for Success Mobile Boutique which reaches the north and south regions of Pittsburgh.
Emily Kostelnik: Tell me more about the mission of Dress for Success Pittsburgh.
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: Our purpose at Dress for Success Pittsburgh is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty. Dress for Success Pittsburgh is part of a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures. We provide resources that a woman might need going into an interview, internship, or job fair.
We provide each woman with professional attire to secure employment, but we are about much more than simply a new outfit. Besides physically equipping women with apparel and accessories, our programs furnish her with confidence that she carries forever and the knowledge that she can actively define her life, the direction she takes, and what success means to her.
We are also a connector that shares resources and refers women to other nonprofit support. We always say when you look good, you feel good. And when you have the resources that you need, a woman’s confidence is boosted even more.
Emily Kostelnik: Each woman’s career journey is so different. How does your organization ensure you’re supporting their individual needs?
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: Our staff and volunteers take the time to build one-on-one relationships with the women we work with. Often, we’re the first people they call when they get the internship or job because we have been supporting them throughout the process.
With the connections we have in the community, we can really make these experiences personalized by providing extra support. We ask questions directly, like, “What do you need?” and “Can we help connect you to childcare so you can get to your interview?” Women are pulled in so many different directions, so we want to meet them where they are. If a woman can’t get to us at one of our boutiques, we can bring the mobile boutique to a surrounding area near them.
We really try to reduce barriers so that we can make sure all women get that job. We now also have pop-up events that do not require appointments and offer clothing of all types — including everyday wear.
Emily Kostelnik: The mobile boutique is such a unique offering. Can you tell me more about how Dress for Success is leveraging that program?
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: The mobile boutiques are designed to meet the needs of women with transportation, childcare, or schedule barriers that can’t come to one of our boutiques. It’s basically a closet on wheels stocked from floor to ceiling with shoes, clothes, accessories, and personal care items. We have two units that cover the north and south regions of Pennsylvania. We travel to community centers, faith-based institutes, college campuses, and more. You can see the mobile boutique in action in the video below.
Liz Mims: The mission of Dress for Success Pittsburgh is one that has been instrumental to affecting and changing women's lives in and around the workplace. The mission is focused on empowering women on their journeys towards economic independence. That looks like providing the clothes that they need. That's providing the resources they need. It's providing the community that women need on those journeys towards financial empowerment, but also we hope financial independence.
Volunteer: Are you looking for anything specific? No, not at all. Look it’s a Saturday morning.
Erin Hatley: I think the support makes a difference because there's a one-on-one connection. A woman can walk in and feel welcomed, and have a warm welcome and have the right opportunities and the right team behind her to make sure that when she leaves a dress for success event, she has the confidence and she has the connections to move forward and land the you know best employment for her.
Volunteer: That is nice.
Woman: I'll take these if that’s OK.
Volunteer: Yea, absolutely.
Woman: They’ll be good for going to work and stuff.
Volunteer: What about that one?
Woman: I’m between an 8 and a 9.
Volunteer: OK, the 8s are over here and the 9s over here.
Liz Mims: We provide support with even creating resumes. What is the resume? The basics. We don't take anything for granted. So you need support with resume, help writing a cover letter, even sometimes making those basic essential connections to things like signing up for an email account. A lot of things nowadays are done online, they're virtual. So, if you have an interview in zoom, we can help you set up a zoom account.
Yvette Williams: I am a service coordinator for a homeless outreach program. And I tried to emulate or be that person to show that what you can do, how you can be successful and your journey in like, life on life's terms. Just coming here today, makes me feel better, just secure me being who I am for what I do.
Marita Garrett: It remove barriers to access so that women regardless of what workforce or what arena and workforce development career development, they're getting into that they have a service that they can access for free.
Liz Mims: One of the bigger things that we found over time is time. The poverty of time is a huge barrier. If you are already struggling when it comes to transportation, childcare, if you're taking care of an aging spouse, we know that 60 to 73% of the time depending where you live in this country, that falls on women to do being primary caregivers. That leaves your time before you even slimmer than you normally would want it to be. And so, we discovered when you look at time and the value of time, we can't get that back. It's a precious thing, even more precious maybe than some of the other things that we provide. That's when we figured out that meeting women where they are figuratively is one thing and it's essential. Meeting women where they are physically, literally is a game changer.
Erram Ahmed: Mobile services were born out of needing to meet women where they were the transportation system here in Pittsburgh is not sufficient enough to get the women where they need to be. There's lots of gaps in the system. And where Dress for Success can fill those gaps. We will be there.
Jade Corbett: It's really important to bring resources like this to communities because post-pandemic, women have been disproportionately affected it really removes that barrier of transportation where we can bring our services to communities and they can access it readily.
Liz Mims: If there's one woman that needs this a month, there are 100 women that need this. And so, we started what we now call our mobile services program, where we literally hop in a 25-foot-long Ford Transit, you can't miss it. It's a mobile closet essentially. And we are driving to hundreds of locations throughout the year. Meeting women where they are physically, and in that way, I think we are really changing the game in terms of empowering women.
Erram Ahmed: So inside our mobile services van is anything that you would find in our boutique. So we have things like suit jackets, pants, professional clothing as well some casual clothing for people who are going through our rebuild suitings. We also have things like professional shoes and any other accessories as well as personal care items. So, we have things like makeup or shampoo, anything that makes you feel confident and beautiful, ready to go for whatever it is that you need us for.
Jade Corbett: But to have this mobile unit that is essentially a boutique on wheels that we can just roll up with everything that we need and have that visibility in the community has just been an absolute game changer for our services.
Erram Ahmed: Mobile services are very involved. It's a fast day. There's a lot going on. We need a lot of hands on deck so our volunteers are very critical to the success of these events.
Marita Garrett: There are professional work wear women's clothes that folks have out here in the community. consider donating to dress for success.
Erram Ahmed: As mobile services grow, Dress for Success grows. And we're hoping that you know we'll get to a point that we'll be serving all of southwestern PA, all the counties, all the you know rural areas all the way into the inner cities. Everywhere that somebody would need us, we really hope that we'll be there.
Liz Mims: And I think we don't give women confidence. I think we have the privilege of seeing women remember who they are. And that to me is what makes a difference. Remember who you are.
Emily Kostelnik: How is Dress for Success Pittsburgh supporting women’s professional development?
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: We have several ways we’re supporting women’s career growth and development. Two that stand out are the Monthly Giving Club and our Virtual Connections Resource Center. The Monthly Giving Club is a group of members that host networking events for members and those interested in learning more. Often these networking events allow the women we serve to connect with professionals in low-pressure settings. For the virtual Connections Resource Center, our volunteers with professional backgrounds create educational videos on resume tips, interview guides and more for women to view at their convenience
Dress for Success staff and volunteers offering mobile services.
Emily Kostelnik: What does this organization mean to you personally?
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: After college, I struggled finding a job. I heard “no” so many times and my confidence was down. I started volunteering and met Tanya Vokes, CEO of Dress for Success Pittsburgh, and she started introducing me to her network.
She posted a job opening online and although I wanted to apply, there were several things in the description that I didn’t have the experience for. I spoke with Tanya, and she told me, “If women don’t check one box in a long list, they think they’re a failure and never apply for the role.” She encouraged me to apply, I interviewed, and she offered me the job. At first, I was silent. I was just so shocked because I’ve heard “no” so many times and someone finally took a chance on me. After that, I knew I wanted to do that for someone else.
Emily Kostelnik: And now you’ve been with Dress for Success Pittsburgh for almost five years, and the organization is growing. What are your plans for 2023?
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: Our goal is to reach 40% more women through pop-up events. Our Butler and Fayette boutique locations have closed with the goal of reaching double the number of women by providing mobile services in those counties.
We’re also seeing different groups of women needing our services. During and post-pandemic, some women who were in their roles for 30+ years have lost their jobs. These women needed our help answering questions like, “What’s relevant in an interview today? How should I adjust my resume?”
We’ve also seen a huge increase in women aspiring to enter the medical field. We’re adjusting by using our Monthly Giving Club donations to purchase scrubs and non-skid shoes since those are items not usually donated.
Emily Kostelnik: How can people get involved in the mission of Dress for Success Pittsburgh?
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock: We’re always looking for volunteers. For those who can’t donate time, you can donate clothing or join our Monthly Giving Club, offering a reoccurring amount to our organization each month. Visit our website to learn more about how you can get involved.
Calynn Abdullah-Donbrock serves as the communications & development manager for Dress for Success Pittsburgh. Calynn joined the team in early 2018 as the organization’s first communications coordinator, responsible for leading communications initiatives to advance the nonprofit’s mission to empower women who are entering and returning to the workforce. During her tenure, Calynn has elevated the organization’s reach and impact through social media, print media, fundraising, and online campaigns, while also driving the success of the nonprofit’s signature Black & Gold fundraiser and other special events.
In the midst of the pandemic, Calynn focused on enhancing the organization’s fundraising and event strategy, creating innovative events like the Cookie Table Drive-through fundraiser, which raised over $60,000, and the Style Box Experience. Calynn is proud to have launched the organization’s first Monthly Giving Club (MGC) program, increasing membership to over 130 members with $140,000 raised in its first four years. This critical financial support allows the team to expand mobile services and purchase medical scrubs, nonskid shoes, and other items not typically donated.
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