Earlier this summer, nearly 40 businesses and organizations collected more than 15,000 pounds of interview-appropriate attire in the annual Put Your Clothes to Work corporate clothing drive for Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries (Boston).
The donated clothes are used at the Boston Goodwill’s quarterly Clothing Collaborative for Job Trainees. Each year, the collaborative provides interview-appropriate apparel for 500 men and women who have completed job training at the Goodwill or other Boston-area training programs and are looking for jobs. The donation goal for this year was 15,000 pounds.
“These donations make a real difference to individuals who are looking for work,” said Joanne Hilferty, president and CEO of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. “Thanks to these businesses and their employees, job seekers of limited means will be able to feel more confident when they interview for a job.”
This year, there were 11 new companies in Put Your Clothes to Work, which helped the drive collect nearly 30 percent more than it did the year before. And, the largest drive was held by one of the new companies – Oxford Global Resources, which collected more than 1,900 pounds.
“Oxford was so happy to help out with such a great cause,” said Tracy McBride, director of human resources for Oxford. “It was truly inspiring knowing that our donations helped others as they entered the workforce again.”
The drive, now in its 16th year, is spearheaded by McGladrey LLP along with Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), Brown Brothers Harriman, Building Impact, Castle Group, Online Buddies and The TJX Companies.
“As more and more businesses are discovering, a drive like this is fun and good,” said Nancy Aubrey, partner at McGladrey and a Boston Goodwill board member. “Fun because employees like doing it and good because it helps people get jobs. At McGladrey, we look forward to the drive every year.”
