NEWS RELEASE
DRESS FOR SUCCESS ORILLIA AND BARRIE
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Dress for Success Orillia and Barrie is the chosen charity for Ripple of Kindness Orillia’s (ROK) final 2022 donation.
The organization supports local women and non-binary individuals by providing free workwear and confidence-building programming to help them achieve economic independence.
“We are grateful to those community members who support our mission to help build the confidence of women in our community, to help lift them out of poverty so they can thrive in work and in life,” says Dress for Success Orillia and Barrie executive director Linda Reid.
Ripple of Kindness Orillia is a gathering of like-minded women committed to giving back to their community. ROK members are asked to nominate local organizations for consideration of one of their donations. Then, once a nominee has been selected, members make a donation of $100 each four times per year. Individual tax receipts are issued by the recipient organization. (The total donation amount won't be known until the members make their donations).
“People are struggling right now, and if we want to see change, we need to work together. Supporting our local organizations, who each provide vital programs and services, is one way we can help make a difference,” shares Amber McGarvey-Moreland.
McGarvey-Moreland and Raquel Ness are co-directors of the Orillia chapter, which was created just prior to the pandemic.
“We are always looking for new members to join Ripple of Kindness Orillia for a few reasons. Of course, there is the obvious; the more members we have, the larger financial impact we can make, but there’s more to ROK than that. It’s a wonderful way to meet new people, to learn more about what programs and resources are available and to get involved in projects or in a volunteer capacity,” says McGarvey-Moreland.
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in learning more or to become a member.
“Like so many, it’s been a very challenging few years for Dress for Success Orillia and Barrie. We receive no core funding for operations and rely on donations from individuals and businesses.
"This generous donation is significant for us, and will help Dress for Success serve more women in Orillia and area with our pop-up clothing assistance program in 2023. These funds will also help build awareness of our programs and services that are available to low-income women in our communities, as we will be hiring a student for Orillia in the spring and summer for community outreach,” says Linda Reid.
In 2023 Dress for Success Orillia and Barrie will also be offering free yoga and mindfulness classes to clients. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women, especially low-income and front-line workers, who often had to make the difficult choice to stay home with children.
As mental illness has increased during the pandemic, Dress for Success is providing this series of free classes to low-income women in the community to help cope with daily stresses in work and their private lives.
Dress for Success client Marie Larochelle recently attended the charity’s Breakfast Club, a nine-week program designed to assist clients with addressing obstacles to employment, while keeping them motivated and inspired.
“The Breakfast Club and Dress for Success was a great support to me in my career path. There were so many levels of individual and personal support offered that I could not begin to thank the program co-ordinators enough. I learned about courage and the dynamics of interpersonal skills with different generations. I learned that I have the confidence to transfer my skills from my previous place of work to my current one. The in-person social support circle support, delicious food, and fuel gift cards were phenomenal. I found everyone to be kind and caring and I felt less alone and afraid as a result.”
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