Dress Your Best

New Programs

Dress Your Best for Kids (DYB4Kids)

With a devoted volunteer staff and clothing donor base DYB thought to expand to help children. DYB4Kids provides children with clothing and accessories for school. DYB gives each young client five outfits, worth an approximate retail value of $500. Volunteers help parents select suitable attire for all seasons and activities, such as snowsuits, sneakers, and knapsacks.

Vision

We believe that every child is entitled to warm clothing for winter and for school clothing that promotes personal confidence and positive body image.

Mission

DYB4Kids is committed to improving the lives of children in Toronto. We will do this by outfitting children with appropriate clothing for school and with warm clothes for winter.

Program Description

Our program will provide clothing for boys and girls ranging in age from 6- 13, grades 1- 8. Referrals will come from Boys and Girls Clubs and over 210 Toronto based not- for- profit organizations that are currently in partnership with Dress Your Best (for Adults). The clothes and accessories are meant to provide the client with a complete quality wardrobe for school, physical activity and warm winter clothing. Our boutique staff offer a one- on- one service, in which they work together to choose attire that will best fit the client's needs and individual style. The program will run out of the same donated space as the Dress Your Best for Adults (DYB) once a week. It will utilize the already large volunteer program to manage the boutique and dress clients.

Short and Long Term Goals

Our first year goal is to serve 10 clients per week for a total of 400 clients (parents) which will clothe a minimum of 800 children for the year. It is assumed that each parent will have an average of 2- 3 children. Over the course of 5 years, our goal is to increase the number of clients served per year to 600 by year 5 for a cumulative total of 2,500 clients served in 5 years. With a special thanks to the Kiwanis club of Toronto for start up funds and to The Kiwanis Club of Toronto Foundation for funds for boutique equipment.

Masomo for Children

The mission of Masomo For Children is to advance the education - 'masomo' in Swahili - of children living in Mwanza, Tanzania by promoting global citizenship, fundraising and volunteerism in Canada.

The Masomo For Children program supports the funding of The Starehe Nursery School, which opened in January 2008. The program also sponsors tuition scholarships for orphans living at Starehe Children's Home, which is the largest orphanage in the greater region of Mwanza. Starehe is currently home to more than 120 children between the ages of infancy and 18 years who have been orphaned, abandoned and/or are HIV positive.

Masomo For Children operates entirely on a voluntary basis, and there are absolutely NO administrative costs associated with its projects; as such, 100% of all donations received will have a direct and immediate impact on the education of children in Mwanza.