Dress for Success Charlotte

Professional Womens Group (PWG): A membership-based association that meets monthly to network, retain employment and advance careers, the PWG strives to teach members about workplace communication, corporate culture, financial literacy/wealth building, balancing family and work, and more. Mental Health and Wellness programming continued to be offered in these meetings and to all members throughout the year as Mental Health is reported to be one of the barriers to employment and advancement. Education and Training in this area, and in partnership with Mental Health America of Central Carolinas, resulted in 40 women becoming Certificated QPR Gatekeepers. QPR, like CPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. Additional Workshop Topics included: Are you Job Ready; Interviewing 101; Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs; Online Health Resources; Healthy Mind, Healthy Body; The Power of Nonverbal Communications; Cloud Storage; Cybersecurity; among others. These workshops are offered by HR professionals from employer partner companies. 84% of active PWG members reported retaining and/or advancing employment in 2022. Going Places Network (GPN): A specially-designed program for chronically unemployed and underemployed, GPN provides a curriculum that blends a proven methodology to improve the career prospects of unemployed and underemployed women and helps these women gain professional skills, accelerate their job searches and build confidence through weekly training sessions, one-on-one career coaching and networking in a supportive environment. Virtual and in-person programming currently meets twice a week over a 4-week period. Once employment is secured, clients are invited to enroll in the Professional Womens Group program where clients report earning $20,000 -$50,000 annually or between $ 10 -$17 hourly.Career Center: A fully equipped business office for clients to use on their own and/or to meet with HR and Recruiting professionals for job search support and instruction including: rsum and cover-letter writing; Internet, email, and social media as job search tools; job placement software; mock interviews; and professional workshops on a wide variety of leadership and development topics designed specifically for women entering the workforce and advancing their careers. 243 clients (unduplicated) utilized the Career Center in 2022. Programming also included partnerships with Google and AARP to help clients increase their economic security by giving them the digital essentials they need to find and secure jobs, change careers, and explore entrepreneurship . Financial Education: A 10-week curriculum developed with the National Endowment for Financial Education providing education on: Basic banking and budgeting, Credit and Debt Management, Investments and Retirement Planning; Workplace Benefits; Taxes, among other topics, including managing during a crisis, i.e., COVID-19 and historically high inflation rates. Upon completion of the program: 100% have personal financial goals, up from 82% pre-program; 100% have savings accounts, up from 76% pre-program; 59% have an emergency fund, an increase from 24% upon enrollment; 65% actively monitor/stick to their budget, up from 35% pre-program; 52% are currently investing for retirement and/or other long-term goals, up from 23% pre-program.

Interview and Employment Suiting: Overall, In 2022, 692 women utilized workforce development programs and services. Offered free of charge, this program provides two complete interview outfits, including shoes and accessories, and when see secures employment, she is eligible to receive up to up to five outfits for an instant working wardrobe. This service is often the first point of contact for those seeking job preparedness and job acquisitions services. Of the 692 women served, 424 received suiting services.