What We Do
Introduction
Dress Your Best changes the lives of Canadians by outfitting women, men and youth with clothing for employment. DYB gives each client an average of 5 outfits - 20 to 30 articles of clothing - including shoes and various accessories. The clothes and accessories are meant to provide the client with a complete quality wardrobe for interviews and ongoing employment. Our professional trained Image Consultants 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.
Our newest addition, Dress Your Best for Kids, provides children with clothing for school as well as clothing and accessories for infants to impoverished families throughout the GTA.
Vision
We believe that every person deserves a chance to succeed. Dress Your Best is committed to providing a service that empowers women and men to gain employment and to instil self assurance in children attending school. By dressing our clients with high quality clothing we are giving them the confidence needed to successfully enter the classroom and the workforce.
Results
- DYB has outfitted more than 6,500 women, men and youth prepare for employment with 225,000 articles of clothing for the workplace ranging in styles from business casual to business formal.
- In 2008, DYB outfitted 1000+ clients.
- All DYB clients are referred by non-profit job training agencies.
- Currently DYB accepts referrals from 175 non-profit and is the final step of the client's job training process.
- DYB adult clients are 80% women and 20% men.
- Approximately 60% are New Canadians.
- DYB operates with 53 volunteers, 1 full time and 1 part time paid staff.
- Annually DYB hosts volunteer days to over 100+ corporate volunteers.
- In November 2007 DYB launched DYB4Kids outfitting 100+ children in its first month.
- More than 100 Torontonians volunteered 16,500 hours at the boutique and through committee work.
Goals for 2009
- To expand DYB and DYB4Kids from a one-day-per-week operation to a charity that operates on a full time basis.
- To raise sufficient funds to enable DYB to rent permanent operating space and to meet increased staff expenses associated with being open on a full time basis.
- To outfit 3000 clients in 2009, including 1600 women, 400 men and 1000 children.
- To build a number of key partnerships with Corporations that have Social Responsibility objectives are well aligned with the work of DYB and DYB4Kids.