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GSA Associates Help Portland's Women Step up Into a New Life

By Lauren Isaksen, GSA Northwest/Arctic Region Communications Officer

Nearly 200 women in the Portland Community have reason to step confidently into their next job interview thanks to the leadership and generosity of GSA Northwest/Arctic Region employees and their federal tenants.

PBS Office Manager Annette Maddux recently spearheaded a multi-agency tenant clothing drive that netted more than 1,250 clothing and accessories for the nonprofit Dress for Success, which helps underserved and homeless women enter the job market and seek educational opportunities.

Photo of SayraThese women will now own a week's worth of clothing and accessories to wear proudly in a professional environment. Read Sayra's Story to find out how Dress for Success boosted her out of homelessness and into a new job and college education.

It took two mini-vans and many helping hands to load up the clothing donated from employees of four federal buildings in the Portland metro area. According to Maddux, “We kept loading and more clothing kept arriving—we almost couldn't keep up with the river of donations.” Maddux extends a big thank you to the GSA team that helped so many local women to strive toward independence. They are: Jim Carter, John Gregory, Virginia Matthews, Bob Ortiz, Rebecca Scott, Howard Schaffer, Jim Silk, Ed Solbach, and Dan Spitzer.

Dress for Success, an international nonprofit organization, empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive at work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to almost 150 cities in 20 countries and has helped more than 925,000 women work towards self-sufficiency.

Follow this link If you would like to donate, volunteer, or otherwise support Dress for Success.