CCC-23698 May June 2014.indd
Transcription
CCC-23698 May June 2014.indd
beauty&fashion educate. enrich. empower. Helping Women on the Brink to Fashion New Lives By Charlene Ann McGrady, Board Member, Wings for Success W INGS FOR SUCCESS IS DEDICATED to women’s economic empowerment, a subject much in the news this year. The nonprofit has made local headlines in 2014 with its first spring fashion show and the recent recognition of its board president as the West Chester University (WCU) Foundation Woman of the Year. skills they need to navigate the workplace. Wings clients receive up to two weeks’ worth of work-appropriate outfits and accessories valued at approximately $500. This allows them to allocate their limited financial resources to housing, food or childcare. More than three-quarters of the women served support at least one child and have annual incomes below $10,000. In this land of plenty, according to the Shriver Report, 42 million American women and 28 million children who rely on them live in poverty. Their financial vulnerability was the subject of the landmark Shriver Report in January and the recent HBO documentary, “Paycheck to Paycheck,” about a single mother’s daily struggle to make ends meet. Locally, Wings for Success is on the front lines with women striving to fashion more financially stable lives. “Like the women profiled in the Shriver Report and the HBO documentary, Wings clients are on the brink of getting ahead or falling behind,” says Executive Director LeeAnn Riloff. “We help them move forward.” To support its work, Wings held its first Spring Fashion Show on March 29 at Immaculata University. With QVC Program Host Rachel Boesing as emcee, the fundraiser featured fashions from local boutiques and designs by Immaculata students, along with a silent auction, fashion and beauty vendors, and style workshops. The crowd favorite was a competition in which Wings clients modeled outfits created by Wings volunteers. Over the past 16 years, the non-profit organization has provided more than 8,000 women with the professional apparel, confidence and life PHOTO: HANNON FEARN Because of her leadership of Wings’ efforts to help women to “strut their stuff ” in the workplace, Mary Pat Knauss, Board President Mary Pat Knauss was recently board president, named the West Chester University Foundation Wings For Success Woman of the Year. The award recognizes professional and/or volunteer achievements that have a positive impact on women and/or girls. A retired Hewlett-Packard executive with a WCU chemistry degree and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Knauss says it has been gratifying to help Wings to grow and serve more women in need. “We live in one of the wealthiest counties in the country,” she says, “but there is considerable hidden poverty. It’s satisfying to give back to the community you live in.” Visit www.wingsforsuccess.org or call 610-644-6323 to learn how you can support the Wings for Success mission to help women on the brink to soar. QVC Program Host Rachel Boesing (left) and Wings Executive Director LeeAnn Riloff (center) congratulate Alecia Moore (right), winner of the client style competition portion of the fashion show. PHOTO: HANNON FEARN www.womensjournalcc.com 40 May/June 2014