About The Career Wardrobe

Thanks to the support from our sponsors:

PA Workwear/ Department of Public Welfare

Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation

SAP America

The Philadelphia Foundation

Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation

Cephalon

Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial

Julian A. & Lois G. Brodsky Foundation

Lincoln Financial Group Foundation

McLean Contributionship

National City Bank

PECO

Residences at Dockside

St. Edmond's Federal Savings Bank

The Career Wardrobe's success relies on the generous donations of individuals, foundations, corporations and organizations from across the Delaware Valley.

Our Mission

Our mission is to empower women in transition by providing programs which inspire the confidence necessary to achieve self-sufficiency and pursue a productive career. We do this by providing professional work attire, educational programs and networking tools and opportunities.

The Career Wardrobe is the nation’s largest independent, community-based non-profit organization serving women transitioning into the workforce by providing professional attire. Since 1995, The Career Wardrobe has assisted nearly 70,000 women by inspiring the confidence necessary to achieve independence.

The Career Wardrobe provides more than clothing! Our Gateway to Success Seminars, Client Help Desk and Professional Women’s Network, provide resume review, educational and networking opportunities for women to help them retain employment and develop a successful career plan.

The general public can also benefit from The Career Wardrobe by visiting The Wardrobe Boutique which sells recycled clothing to benefit The Career Wardrobe's programs and services. Located at the corner of 19th and Spring Garden in Philadelphia, The Wardrobe Boutique is open Tuesday-Saturdays and offers everything from formal to casual clothing at amazing prices.

The Boutique also accepts gently used casual and formal wear as well as professional clothing. Donations that are not suitable for The Career Wardrobe's programs are sold at The Wardrobe Boutique to women who include our former clients who are now working.

In 2010, The Career Wardrobe moved to 21 S. 12th Street, to a first-floor 5,000 square-foot client services facility in order to keep up with increased demand for our services. Annually, over 100 volunteers donate their time and talent to assisting The Career Wardrobe provide its unique services for over 5,000 women.

HISTORY

The Career Wardrobe was founded in 1995 by local women who wanted to help "bridge the gap" between job training and employment for low-income women in the Philadelphia Community. The organization hired its first Executive Director, Sheri Cole, in 2000 and now employs a staff of 9 and army of volunteers to help more than 5,000 women annually transition into the workforce. With a 5,000 square foot Dressing Suite in Center City Philadelphia, The Career Wardrobe is able to assist women from throughout the Philadelphia region.

The Career Wardrobe is a partner agency with the PA Department of Public Welfare to administer the PA WORKWEAR program in Philadelphia which provides women on public assistance with access to professional attire from their job training program through employment. Through this initiative, women in West, South, Southwest and Center City Philadelphia who are on public assistance can be referred directly to The Career Wardrobe for free clothing to meet their job training and job search needs.

In 2009, The Career Wardrobe expanded its operations by opening The Wardrobe Boutique, a recycled clothing boutique which helped to meet the growing demand for our services and make the organization more self-sufficient by reselling donated clothing that is not suitable for our program.

The organization's successful annual event, A Perfect Fit: Fashioning Futures for Women, is held annually at The Park Hyatt at the Bellevue. This unique event attracts corporate and individual supporters who enjoy a fashion show featuring Philadelphia anchorwomen and former Career Wardrobe clients along with an auction of autographed handbags designed by Viv Pickle Custom Handbag Boutique of Philadelphia and signed by celebrity supporters including Oprah Winfrey, President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gloria Steinem and many more.

The Career Wardrobe is a founding member of The Women's Alliance, a national coalition of nonprofit organizations that provide career clothing and skills to women transitioning to work.

Our program has won numerous awards and is supported by key officials, including Mayor Michael A. Nutter, State Senators Shirley Kitchen, LeAnna Washington, Tina Tartaglione and Larry Farnese, State Representative James Roebuck, City Councilwomen Blondell Reynolds-Brown, Jannie Blackwell and Marian Tasco .

The Career Wardrobe was proud to be named a Champion in Action for its workforce development programs by Citizens Bank, NBC10 and Philly.com in 2008. The award came with a $25,000 grant and publicity outreach by all partners.
In October 2007, the New Century Trust surprised The Wardrobe with an $18,000 Willing Hands Award recognizing our work to improve the lives of women and girls.
The Career Wardrobe has been awarded several multi-year grants from The Pew Charitable Trusts, recognizing our success in helping women to succeed in the workforce.

NUMBER OF WOMEN SERVED

The Career Wardrobe has outfitted nearly 70,000 women since our first client walked through the door in December 1995.

50-60% of women served by The Career Wardrobe report securing employment*
60% are working full-time, with 40% earning over $11/hour and some earning salaries as high as $20/hour
54% receive a job offer within 2 interviews after receiving professional clothing and consultation
30% are successful in finding clerical and office administration jobs and 20% in the health care industry, which are jobs with the greatest opportunity for advancement in our region

PROGRAMMING INITIATIVES

The Career Wardrobe is continually striving to expanding our services in order to provide the job readiness support our clients need. Current program initiatives include:

Dressing and Image Consultation: Women become eligible for our unique Dressing and Image Consultation services by being referred by a job training program, domestic violence or other social service agency. Each woman receives and individual appointment and can receive up to a week’s worth of clothing, including a suit and accessories for her job search.
Gateway to Success Education Program: Through educational programming, The Career Wardrobe assists participants with the workplace skills that are necessary to retain employment and advance in their new jobs and careers. Topics include: communication skills, business etiquette, goal setting, and financial and time management.
Resume Review and Interview Assistance: Through our Client Help Desk and Job Search Power Hour, participants have the opportunity to meet one-on-one to receive feedback on their resumes and gain insight into the interviewing process from hiring managers and human resource professionals. Our goal is to help them present a professional image both on paper and in person.
Beauty Basics: At the end of each appointment, participants receive a Beauty Basics gift bag filled with sample beauty products and instruction booklet so that they can recreate their new, professional look at home before their job interview.
Professional Women’s Network: The Professional Women’s Network provides an on-going forum for alumni of The Career Wardrobe to receive support and inspiration from their peers as they continue their job search or start in their new careers.
TrustScripts partnership: The Career Wardrobe partners with TrustScripts to provide discount prescription cards to families in the Philadelphia region. Download yours by visiting our TrustScripts page.