Message from the Chair - September Newsletter

Message from the Chair

I write this message as the first day back to school reminds us all that the summer is passing and the beginnings of a new season are upon us. The first day back to school can be an exciting time for children and parents and anxiety provoking at the same time. What to wear, what will my new teacher be like, will my friends be near, and who will I eat lunch with are thoughts that I am sure each of us can remember. Incredibly, we got through that first day and first weeks with the help of others; and with any luck or good fortune we enjoyed a week without much incident and our confidence in the year ahead grew.

Imagine starting in a new job when you have been away from the workplace for a long time or perhaps you are going into a workplace like you have never been in before. Perhaps this is not a distant memory for some of you and for many women that we serve at Dress for Success Vancouver, the anxiety of an interview or a new job combined with limited personal and financial resources is very real.

Last year DFS was just that personal resource needed, serving more women than ever before and operating more programs than ever before. All of these results  were achieved while a fundamental change was being made to the service delivery model of employment services which is now under the umbrella of WorkBC. Incredibly all of this was delivered with the same compliment of amazing staff and dedicated cohort of extraordinary volunteers. Without their tireless efforts, the first days of work or that interview might not have been as successful as it could be for many women and their families. Confidence was built for over 2000 women in Vancouver.  Thank you!!

The year ahead for the Board is full opportunity as we think deeply about how we resource Dress for Success Vancouver financially and operationally. We want to continue to be the trusted resource to the women in our community who need our services and we must build a financial base that enables us to adapt and be nimble to the changing labour market. I am very exited about the possibilities and the years ahead. As we start our new year, we have many of our current Board members who will continue to be exceptionally committed and provide remarkable contributions through the giving of their time and expertise. We say thank you and good-bye to Sandra Wear who completed her term and welcome three new Board members; Brad Mills, Fereshteh Zeineddin, and Jane Estey. We look forward to the contributions that these three very talented people will bring to our Board.  To read more about each, please view the DFSV web-site for their Bios.

We are "going places, going strong"!