IMPACT 360: Fashion Show Spotlight!

As IMPACT 360 quickly approaches, we want to continue to share with you a little more about our fantastic fashion show participants! As most of you know already, we have 10 Dress for Success clients walking down the runway on June 5th at IMPACT 360, showcasing their stories and beautiful confidence to give us a better understanding of what happens after our clients leave the doors of Dress for Success Vancouver.

For some background on our IMPACT 360 event, visit our previous blog post about what you can expect to see there. You can also purchase your ticket before it's too late!

TARANA SULTAN

What has been your most important lesson from the PWG program?

​I met many different women and learned a lot from them. I got an insight into issues that women in Canada face. More importantly by participating in inspirational workshops by PWG I felt myself empowered and encouraged to further develop myself and achieve my professional career goals.

What made you want to be a part of IMPACT 360?

​I appreciate all the support and the assistance that received I from DFS and want to contribute back with my participation in the IMPACT fundraising event. I believe this project  will ​have a significantly positive impact on many women,  their personal and professional development.

DEEPIKA D. GUPTA

When did you first get introduced to Dress for Success Vancouver?

I first got inroduced through Langara College, where I completed Business & Computer essentials certificate course. 

How has this experience impacted your life?

My experience with Dress for success was a touchy one. I came in all nervous & unknown of the fact that the team at DFS is so nice and helping.

What has been your most important lesson from the PWG program? 

Every moment of life teaches us a new lesson, but some learnt are treasured and so is the my experience with PWG. The lesson of collectively and consistently working leads to an overall success.

What is your occupation? 

I am working as an administrative assistant in an engineering company.

If you could share a piece of advice to other women looking for a career, what would you tell them?

My advice to other women would be: The journey of life is not meant to be feared, it is meant to be traveled and enjoyed. Hence, keep trying never lose hope and keep moving consistently on the paths of self improvement and development cause you never know what grand is coming your way.

What made you want to be a part of IMPACT 360?

I wanted to be a part of Impact cause I believe "There's no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and working with the people who can make a difference. They get the benefit of your participation and you gain a direct understanding of the real problems and potential solutions, which makes you a more informed giver.”

What inspires you?

My inspiration is my dad, who left us alone in this journey of life years ago, but left some very important principles of life for us. One of which I keeping telling my kid too. He always use to say Education, learning are the most valuable treasures, that can make you grand in all aspects but no body can ever steal them from you.

Where is your dream vacation?

My dream vacation would be at VIRGINIA BEACH. Nothing works for me better than Sand & Sea.

What is your motto?

My motto in life is to be successful & to be happy in whatever I do!!

IMPACT 360 Spotlight: Mahnaz Nakhaee

As promised, we have another feature of one of our amazing clients who will be walking down the runway on June 5th at IMPACT 360. On April 14th, we featured a comprehensive guide to everything IMPACT! To read more about it, visit our last blog post.

We would, now, like you to meet Mahnaz Nakhaee. She is one of 10 women who has kindly shared her story with us, her experiences with Dress for Success Vancouver, and her process of empowerment.

To hear more of her story and see her proudly walk down the runway, join us at IMPACT 360 as we Celebrate Fashion and begin Fundraising for Change!

When did you first get introduced to Dress for Success Vancouver?

I was introduced to Dress for Success for the first time in January 2013 by a program called Job Option Program to receive an outfit for my interview. This experience was invaluable because it actually led me to PWG program that I found so inspiring with incredible success stories presented by PWG members, wonderful mentors whose support is always there, and great speakers invited to the meetings.

How has this experience impacted your life?

It helped me to change the way I looked at my life, my work, and the world. This program is filled with inspiration and invaluable insights.

What has been your most important lesson from PWG Program?

My great experience in this program has been networking. I met successful women with the same or even more challenges than I have had as a new comer, and I found out how they have overcome those challenges. I also had the chance to share all my own dreams, concerns, and ideas with them and receive great pieces of advice.

What is your occupation?

Retail, but I used to work as an instructor at University and also a tour guide in my home country.

If you could share a piece of advice to other women looking for a career, what would you tell them?

Don't hesitate to join Dress for Success Program. It is more than just clothes. It is so rewarding and inspiring. It leads them to set realistic and achievable goals to get them where they want to go and enables them to embrace a new season of life and reengage in a world that makes their dreams come true.

What made you want to be a part of IMPACT 360?

I am passionate about empowerment for women. The reason I wanted to be part of the IMPACT 360 was to let other women looking for a career know about Dress for Success and tell them whatever I have accomplished has been due to their generous help and support. To be truly successful means that you have people in your life that support you and care about you. This program paved the way for me from no job to a career that fits my goals and dreams.

Who is your hero?

Helen Keller, a strong woman I admire a lot and her life story taught me nothing is impossible.

What is your motto?

My motto is actually a quote from Helen Keller:

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

Where is your dream vacation?

Heaven on earth Keukenhof garden in The Netherlands. It is the world's largest tulip flower garden. It is very fantastic!

Celebrating Fashion, Fundraising for Change

IMPACT 360 is quickly approaching and we've decided to give you the inside scoop on what you can expect to see, who will be there, and what your ticket will be contributing to.

IMPACT 360 is our signature fundraiser of the year. This year’s theme is ‘Celebrating Fashion, Fundraising for Change’. The night will include a myriad of different activities, from live & silent auctions, vodka & scotch tastings, beauty bar, fresh fare, and door prizes! It will be held at the brand new Regency Lexus at 6^th and Burrard on June 5^th.

The name ‘IMPACT 360’ comes from the idea that these women have come full circle in their lives, and this event is a chance for them to share their stories and impact other women the way that they’ve been impacted. ‘360’ also represents how much it costs to put one woman through all of our programs for a year, including dressing services, Career Centre services, the Professional Women’s Group (PWG), and much more.

Our main spectacle of the evening will be our fashion show. It will feature 10 of our Dress for Success clients who have shown tremendous growth from our programs, exhibit leadership in their lives, and share a strong passion in their careers and everything that they do. They have shown us a willingness to share their stories, all of which you will hear at IMPACT 360. Some have also volunteered to be a part of a promotional video for the event. You can watch the video here.

We wanted to introduce you to these 10 incredible women to give you an insight on who they are, and why they were chosen to represent the values and mission of Dress for Success Vancouver. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be featuring Q & A's with all of them and sharing them here on our blog. Tune in to follow their inspiring stories and don't forget to buy your tickets to IMPACT 360 to hear these stories from the women themselves!

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Our first feature is Sunny Johnston. We've recently featured Sunny in one of our Client Spotlights, but we thought we would share some more about how and why she got involved in Dress for Success in her own words.

Sunny came into our program about a year ago, looking for a stepping stone to push her towards pursuing the goals of her life:

"When you walk into a work place and you’re not dressed appropriately for the job you’re pursuing even though deep down inside you know I am awesome for this job, I can do this job, I can give a one hundred percent, but I don’t look the part, people won’t hire you and it sucks, but that’s just the way that it goes. It’s nice to have the confidence, knowing that there is someone out there that is just like you, that is in the same exact situation that you are. It’s almost healing in a way." 

How has this experience impacted your life?

Coming to Dress for Success and being a part of the PWG has always given me the power to meet these women and these women are the strongest women I have, so I am very happy. My experience at DFS has been absolutely phenomenal, amazing, I have been treated so well. It’s been a blessing in disguise really.

If you could share a piece of advice to other women looking for a career, what would you tell them?

For any person that actually wants to come into this program, just do it, you’re going to find so much more than it is that you’re actually looking for. It’s more than just a shirt. It’s more than just a pair of shoes. It’s something more. It’s confidence, it’s a reason to go out there and get the job that you want. 

What is your motto?

"Enough"
One day I will be...
One day I will have...
One day I will accomplish...
Because "Enough" is all you will ever need...

To read more about Sunny, visit her Client Spotlight!

Tune in for more spotlights in the coming weeks on these 10 inspiring stories of the women who have been so kind to share their stories with us.

To purchase your tickets for IMPACT 360, visit our website!

Let's Hear It For The Girls!

Grace is all dolled up and ready for her interview with Kim

This past Saturday, three of our previous clients and active PWG members came in for a photoshoot! The ladies had a great time getting their make-up done and having their photos professionally taken! Why all this fun, you ask? This is all in preparation for our largest fundraiser of the year, IMPACT 360! This year, we are going to be celebrating fashion, hosting a fashion show fundraiser! We will be inviting 10 of our clients to participate and share their stories in an effort to give our donors a new perspective on our clients and what we do here at Dress for Success Vancouver.

Geraldine is getting her makeup done!

Our Dress for Success volunteer mentor, Kim Conroy, was on-sight interviewing the women to find out more about their stories. The three women involved--Carrie, Grace, and Geraldine--were kind enough to open up to Kim about their experiences with Dress for Success Vancouver, and will also be participating in the upcoming fashion show at IMPACT 360 on June 5th.

Carrie, being photographed at our Dress for Success Vancouver office.

If you would like to hear more about these women's stories, and others like theirs, be sure to mark your calendars and attend our biggest fundraiser of the year:  IMPACT 360! Tickets go on sale in April so be sure to stay tuned for more information on our Facebook page!

Santa Chow: Approaching Difficulties with Perseverance and Grace

Dress for Success is pleased to welcome Santa Chow, a Dress for Success Vancouver client and success story, as one of four speakers at the Inaugural Success Luncheon on Wednesday, October 30th at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Santa Chow - Dress for Success client
and success story  


As an intelligent, fearless and strong-willed single mother of two, Santa Chow has the determination to succeed that is nothing short of astounding.“I know I can achieve anything I dream of because I have the will and the power,” she says.

Forty-six year old Santa immigrated to Canada in 1983 from Hong Kong and studied grade 13 in Toronto while her brother attended university. From there, Santa relocated to Winnipeg to attend university herself, but while in Winnipeg she contracted a rare lung disease doctors had never seen before. Santa spent a year in hospital for treatment and even had part of her lung removed. "I almost died from that incident."

Santa regained her strength and after several years returned back to Hong Kong where she worked in the family business as the CEO and controller of her father’s three factories. After four years, Santa left Hong Kong once again and moved back to the Canada with her husband, a dentist she met in Hong Kong.  

Santa worked managing her husband’s business for 13 years when her life took a sharp turn. Her husband asked Santa for a divorce. They had two children together, Tabitha and Sebastian. “When my husband left me and the children, I lost my marriage and my job at the same time,” she says. “I felt like I had nothing left.” Slipping deep into clinical depression, Santa went to see her family doctor. He recommended taking anti-depression medication, but instead Santa turned to natural medicine for healing and discovered running. Jogging for three hours every day, Santa produced the much needed endorphins her body required to start feeling better.

Feeling strong and healthy and ready for a new challenge, Santa joined the YWCA. No longer wanting to depend on a man, “I wanted control over my fate and destiny and to take charge of my life.” Through the YWCA, Santa rediscovered the direction she wanted her life to take and in 2005, she completed a full-time, female-only, six-month long program to become a contractor and learned the skills of the trade. “I completed the course and learned all the wiring, plumbing, carpentry, dry-walling, and tiling. I excelled at all five subjects, but I really love carpentry. I made furniture for my house; the bookshelves and my king-size bed. I made it all myself.”

From there, while juggling two part-time jobs and raising her two children, Santa attended UBC and finished the psychology degree she was unable to continue due to her illness in Winnipeg. 

After she graduated from UBC and through a friend’s recommendation, Santa was offered a job with FranchiseLink, Canada’s largest network dedicated to helping consumers navigate franchise and business opportunities.

When she secured a position with FranchiseLink, Santa became part of the Dress for Success Professional Women’s Group (PWG). The 18-month PWG program provides employed women with a network of support, practical information and inspiration to achieve success in careers and in life. Through the PWG, Santa was paired with a mentor, Kim Conroy, a chartered accountant and a career coach. “She gives me advice, she looked at my resume and once a week she gives me personal counseling.”

Since starting her job with FranchiseLink in December 2009, Santa has been promoted to Director of Asian Franchise Development. “I am the bridge between two cultures, the Asian business market and the mainstream North American market.”

Santa says that Dress for Success gives women the encouragement to educate themselves, and by doing so, the ability to make their lives and the lives of their children better.

“When we make changes for ourselves, it affects our children too, it shapes their lives. Dress for Success gives us encouragement; that even if we are alone, without a partner, we can do things on our own. We can make an impact in the world.”

About Dress for Success Vancouver

Dress for Success Vancouver is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since its inception in 1999, Dress for Success Vancouver has helped more than 17,000 women towards self-sufficiency.

Event Details
Get your tickets at www.dressforsuccess.org/vancouver
Enjoy a 3 course lunch and the opportunity to network with other prominent business contacts across all sectors.

All proceeds are in support of Dress for Success Vancouver!