Dress for Success Celebrates Empowerment of Women

Dress for Success Tulsa has reached a major milestone in its mission to empower local women. On May 4, the charity celebrated 20 years of providing professional attire and a network of support and career services to help women achieve economic independence. Dress for Success Tulsa will commemorate and forward its impact on the community through the remainder of the year. In addition to hosting a variety of fundraisers, it will also re-open and expand its development programs, including Beyond the Suit, which was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are extremely proud to have served more than 16,000 beautiful women in our community with business attire,” said Katherine Skorvaga, executive director of Dress for Success Tulsa.  “The most beautiful thing a woman can wear is confidence. My reward is seeing women leave the boutique with confidence gained by a new wardrobe.” We owe our existence to the generosity of the community, and we fund our programs through sponsorships, donors and fundraisers.
Dress for Success Tulsa is one of 145 affiliates located in 24 countries throughout the world. Women come from all walks of life, and are referred by a continually expanding array of more than 148 nonprofit, agencies, shelters, colleges and technical institutes and there is no cost for the services provided.
Since first opening its doors in Tulsa in 2001, it has evolved and expanded to meet the growing need of local women. In 2016, it opened a larger facility with additional on-site resources at 3103 South Harvard Ave. in Midtown. The nearly 5000-square-foot facility is open Monday through Friday and houses a boutique area full of clothing and accessories for client suiting, a large career center with computers for program participants to utilize in classes or for job searching efforts.
Dress for Success Tulsa launched the Beyond the Suit program in 2019, which helps to inspire women and provide career development tools to succeed and thrive in the workplace and in life.  The educational four-day program includes cover letter and resume writing, skills training on the art of the interview and mock interviews.  Other topics covered are personal goals, professional dress, workplace harmony, budgeting and credit card finance.  The program concludes with a Professional Women’s Group Speaker, makeover by Clary Sage and a Graduation ceremony.  With in-person classes limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization plans to offer virtual tips on its website to all of its clients, with hopes to resume classes this Fall.
Last year, the group met its greatest challenge, reduced resources coupled with extreme need. The pandemic stalled both operations and fundraising events. In response, Dress for Success Tulsa initiated a Go Fund Me program to raise $50,000 (which has raised $8,380 so far). The link for the GoFundMe is: http://bit.ly/DFSTulsaFund. We have two upcoming fundraisers our “Sizzling Summer Savings” Sale on July 22, 23 and 24 at the Dress for Success Tulsa office. The second fundraiser is a five-course dinner with pairings with a Casino Royale 007 theme including a Live & Silent auction at Bluestone Steakhouse & Seafood on Monday, Aug. 30 at 6:30 pm, at 10032 South Sheridan Rd. in Tulsa. To make a reservation for the dinner fundraiser call Bluestone Steakhouse & Seafood at 918-296-9889.
For more information on Dress for Success Tulsa, including how you can help, visit tulsa.dressforsuccess.org.