Now seeking gently used business attire for UCOP clothing drive
November 3, 2014 •
This week UCOP will be collecting donations of gently used business attire to help local women and men increase their confidence and get gainful employment. The UCOP drive is a joint effort of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (PACSW) and the UC Oakland Partnership.
Clothing racks will be set up in the Franklin lobby all week to collect your donations. Clothing should be professionally appropriate for women and men, either suits or separates, and be in good condition.
Please wash or dry clean and press clothing items and hang them on hangers. There will also be boxes available for shoes, jewelry, handbags, briefcases, belts, ties and other accessories. Please place small items in sealed plastic bags so they won’t get misplaced. Donations are tax-deductible; just fill out this receipt to itemize and estimate the value of your donations.
The clothing drive began at the Oct. 13 ACE Nor-Cal conference, a daylong symposium for women aspiring to leadership positions in higher education. PACSW co-hosted the event and collected donations for the Oakland-based nonprofit Wardrobe for Opportunity, which provides coaching and clothing to low-income individuals to help them find jobs and build careers.
“It’s a great organization that’s right down the street from us,” said PACSW member and drive organizer Karen Vecchi of Risk Services. “We wanted to invite women at the conference to bring any clothing that might help support other women trying to enter or stay in the workforce.”
In just one day they collected three racks full of women’s clothing so decided to extend the drive at UCOP and open it up to donations for both men and women, Vecchi said. The nonprofit is especially looking for donations of plus-size clothing, she added. If you’re unable to donate during the UCOP drive, check the website for other drop-off clothing locations.
The clothing drive follows UCOP’s Food Day food drive and the Covenant House backpack drive, which were also big successes. If you have questions about the clothing drive, please contact Vecchi at Karen.Vecchi@ucop.edu or Alina Tejera at Alina.Tejera@ucop.edu.
