DAYTON, Ohio — A Dayton group came up with a different kind of way to help job seekers find work by helping them dress the part.
What You Need To Know
- ‘Clothes That Work provides gently used work clothes at little or no cost to help job-seekers look their best at their interview
- The group said it lost 50% of its customers because of the pandemic
- They started an effort called Men at Work featuring positive male role models in the community, to help raise money for the organization
Philip Drennen is no stranger to finding the perfect wardrobe — it’s part of how he makes a living. He’s a creative director for Dare 2 Defy, a theater-production company in Dayton.
“I’m running a business, too, it’s just, I dress like this [in street clothes] and get to play with costumes all day,” said Drennen.
He began dusting off all the actors’ clothes that have been sitting in storage and to plan for the company’s first musical performance since the pandemic.
“We really had to navigate around how to keep our doors open in a profession that solely relies on patronage, people coming to see our shows,” said Drennen.
But while he’d been waiting to get back on the live stage, he found another way to raise money to help people who are out of work, with no wardrobe to get into.
“Sometimes people don’t think when people are trying to get back on their feet or get their feet wet in an industry they haven’t been able to, maybe they don’t have the means to get past that first interview,” said Drennen.
Drennen is one of the top five fundraisers for Clothes That Work in Dayton, an organization that provides work clothes at little or no cost, but the pandemic caused the organization to lose out too.
“We’re actually at 50% of the people we were serving in 2019, so we are just hoping that those numbers keep growing as people try to get back into the work force,” said Megan Connelly, spokesperson for Clothes That Work.
It’s part of the reason Connelly is helping to organize a fundraiser to help make up for the loss.
The fundraiser is called Men at Work — showcasing male role models in the community.
“At first it was women only, but now we do serve a lot of men too, so it’s just nice to do Men at Work to fundraise,” said Connelly.
There are 25 men who are a part of it, and Philip Drennen said he’s glad to be one of them.
“I love it, and I hope we all continue to lift each other up especially after the last year,” said Drennen.
Each vote sent is also a donation.
For more information about the fundraiser, or to cast a vote in the fundraiser, visit the Clothes That Work website.
