Where it All Started: The History Behind Dress for Success
Our story begins in 1996 when Nancy Lublin received a gift of $5,000. With this gift and the basement of a local church, she began what is now known as Dress for Success. Nancy teamed up with three nuns in the area. Together, they gathered professional clothing and started a boutique to provide clothing for women in need and seeking jobs. Almost 30 years later, Dress for Success has become nationally and internationally recognized, spanning over 125 different cities in 25 countries.
Bringing Dress for Success to Indianapolis
The city of Indianapolis was granted a charter in May of 1999. With this charter, Talene Shuck opened Dress for Success Indianapolis, specifically catered to women in Indianapolis and the surrounding area. Under the umbrella of Dress for Success, the Professional Women’s Group was also created by a team of strong and renowned women. In 2009, the Indianapolis location started the third program that falls under the services provided by Dress for Success. This program is aimed at meeting career planning and development needs and is run through the Career Development Center.
Suits for Success
Dress for Success aims to support women in any way that we can to help them achieve economic independence. Our organization is most famous for our service, “Style for Success.” Clothing is provided to women who have a job interview or a new job, regardless of their current job status. Dress for Success understands that every woman who walks through our doors has different needs. As an organization, we have prioritized creating different channels through which women can receive our services. In the Indianapolis office, two types of appointments can be made for styling services: the EmpowHER Kit, which is a no-contact way of getting clothing, or a two-hour appointment at our downtown Indianapolis location. If you’re interested in receiving this service, you can fill out this Attire Assistance Application.
Beyond the Suits
The Professional Women’s Group was our second program to be launched and has gained mass popularity over time. This service aims to serve women with a desire to develop skills and knowledge that can propel them to a sustainable career. This program ran out of the Indianapolis office is extremely beneficial. Reservations for this service are required, but the program is available to any woman currently employed who can attend monthly Zoom meetings. Topics include a range of professional and personal development techniques, and guest speakers often frequent these meetings. If you’re interested in this service, please contact Jeronna to reserve a spot or get more information. We are beyond proud of our Professional Women’s Group, but our services do not end there. We also offer Success Coaching Services. This service specializes in connecting women to community resources available when facing barriers to stable and consistent employment. We also offer Career Development Services that provide resources to strengthen their job search and professional development. To find out more about these services and all the other ones we offer, please visit our services page.
Where We Are Today
Today, the Professional Women’s Group has allowed 56% of our members to earn a raise or receive a promotion in 2023. The work of the Professional Women’s Group does not stop there. In the last year, we have seen 76% of our members actively engage in education courses, taking the initiative to further their education. More and more women every day are receiving full-time employment by participating in our services. Our organization began to serve women by providing them with clothing, but over the last few decades, we have been able to expand and provide more services to work towards closing the gap and empowering women to further their careers. Over the last year, the number of women served through multiple programs, not just our styling services, reached an all-time high of 66%. It is inevitable that now more than ever, our services are needed within the Indianapolis community.
Over the last 30 years, our organization has gone from a church basement to an international non-profit. As needs are ever-changing, we will continue to work towards providing a space for women in Indianapolis who need our services. Our story and the History of Dress for Success Indianapolis allows us to use our past as a benchmark to see the direct impact we have made on women’s lives over the last couple of decades. Incredible work has been done since our location opened 24 years ago, and we plan to continue providing services and offering help to any woman who may need it. If our services are something that you may be interested in, please access our host website here to find out more information.
