Wanted: Do-gooders to take part in a drive-by suiting. Nobody gets hurt on the morning of April 18. In fact everybody gets some loot.
When you drop off a freshly cleaned woman's suit at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Salt Lake, you get a breakfast pastry and a beverage. You'll also get a temporary tattoo that reads "Witness to a Drive-By Suiting." So you'll look cool.
The women who inherit the suits will look cool, too, as they head out for job interviews.
The charity event is sponsored by a national nonprofit group, Dress for Success, in conjunction with the Hotel Monaco. The clothes will go to the Turning Point program at Utah Valley State College. From there, they'll go to low-income women, women who are just entering the professional world.
Shalene Matthews, marketing coordinator for Turning Point, explains that the program is run through the college's Continuing Education Department. Turning Point features classes in life management, including goal setting, and parenting and more. For 15 years, the college has also given away clothes through Turning Point.
A typical clothing recipient is a newly divorced mother. She may be living in Utah County, or Wasatch County, or even in Salt Lake. She may have found out about the Turning Point Professional Clothing Source when she registered with the State Department of Workforce Services. She may have learned about the clothes when she came to the college looking for an education and a way to support her children.
Matthews says Turning Point gave away more than 800 outfits last year. Each woman who came in got several outfits. The women who come in are
looking for not only suits, but other clothes that would be appropriate for the workplace — tailored dresses, blazers, skirts and pantsuits.
And they need shoes that look good as new, Matthews says. And blouses. Turning Point especially needs all kinds of clothing in size 10 and smaller, she adds. And they especially need suits in size 16 and up.
Hotel Monaco sales manager Jody Vance says this is the second year her company has done a clothing drive. It is a companywide effort during the month of April for Kimpton Hotels throughout the United States and Canada, she says.
"Last year, we got two truckloads of clothing, more than we expected." But this year, she says, the Hotel Monaco employees are hoping to get even more donations. "This year, we are planning on renting a semi."
Donations are being accepted from 6-9:30 a.m. in front of the hotel on the south side of 200 South between Main Street and West Temple. The organizers ask for clothing that is less than 5 years old; something you yourself would feel comfortable wearing on an interview. Purses, briefcases and conservative coats and accessories are also welcome — as are unused and unopened packages of pantyhose and makeup.
E-mail: susan@desnews.com