Ep 35: Women Empowering Women
Dress for Success Tampa Bay is a local chapter from a worldwide organization committed to helping and empowering other women. And it all started with a granddaughter committed to honoring her grandfather’s memory.
Sarina Fazan interviews Ella Williams, Virginia Elston, and Betsy Cuadrado, three courageous women and members of the Dress for Success Tampa Bay Moving Forward Program, on a journey to personal and professional success - from being unemployed to being gainfully employed and succeeding, thanks to the help of Dress For Success Tampa Bay. These inspiring women join the “On The Record With Sarina Fazan” podcast, along with Katie McGill, Executive Director of Dress for Success Tampa Bay, and Tonya Seay, Vice President, of Dress for Success Tampa Bay Board of Directors to share their stories.
Since starting operations in 1997, Dress For Success has expanded to almost 150 cities in 25 countries and has helped more than 1.2 million women across the globe work towards self-sufficiency.
More than 60 percent of Dress For Success clients are single mothers, yet they power through obstacles, overcome extraordinary challenges, and redefine possibilities for themselves and their families.
“We empower them,” says Katie McGill. “We get them the tools they need to go out and find them employment.”
The first affiliate in Florida, Dress For Success Tampa Bay started operating in 1998 and has provided interview attire for more than 25,000 women in the Bay area.
Katie McGill says, “It starts with the suit, but does not end with the suit”.
That’s why Dress For Success Tampa Bay offers the Moving Forward Program (MFP). MFP is a free service that helps with “interview skills, resume writing, and building confidence to be able to go into that first interview, and then after that the workplace,” explains Tanya Seay.
Betsy Cuadrado tells her story of how she found Dress For Success Tampa Bay and how MFP impacted her life. The first time she came to Dress For Success from a referring women’s center and was given a ticket for an interview suit. Betsy was already a professional teacher with a Master’s degree.
The second time she came to Dress For Success was two years ago with her sister. She did not think she needed the program but wanted to encourage her sister. Still, she was highly impressed with MFP and realized how much she also needed it! The program provided the confidence she needed to give speeches in front of others again. She loved the interaction with fellow class attendees and the Dress For Success volunteers who taught the classes. Betsy felt that the ceremony at the end of the six weeks of class was very inspiring. Even with a Master’s degree in Education, she had attained a new level of confidence.
During 2020, Dress For Success Tampa Bay has transitioned to virtual classes, which is allowing them to reach a wider audience. All of their workshops are now on Zoom.
Ella Williams speaks on her past and how she has overcome hard times with the help of Dress For Success Tampa Bay. Ella came to the nonprofit in 2008 after losing her job. She met Katie McGill at the University Community Center, right at a time when she was about to lose her home. She was able to find employment and Katie linked her to different services for additional help. When she experienced her first Dress For Success suiting, Ella felt like a million dollars. She has since become a homeowner and, with Katie's encouragement, she went back to school to receive her Master’s degree. She has served DFS in California as a Professional Women’s Group (PWG) representative, where she worked on a community project helping homeless female veterans.
Dress For Success Tampa Bay encourages their clients to join the group after going through the program and finding a job. Katie McGill describes it as a “sisterhood.”
It’s a way to give guidance to people who are experiencing similar hardships in life. The PWG program provides newly employed Dress For Success clients with a network of support, practical information, and the inspiration to achieve self-defined success in their careers and lives.
For more information visit their website: www.TampaBay.DressForSuccess.org
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