Suits For A Cause: Professional Wear Donated In Newport Beach

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — March was a month-long clothing driver for the Orange County legal community, in support of job seekers. Area professionals celebrated the nonprofit WHW with a luncheon on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at the Orange County Bar Association in Newport Beach, Calif.

The collection of professional suits was donated to WHW, which provides the unemployed and underemployed the skills and resources they need to get and keep a good job, for one of the nonprofit’s largest clothing drives of the year. This year’s “Suits for a Cause” provided over 500 suits and thousands of pieces of business and casual attire and accessories.

During the luncheon, Justice Eileen C. Moore provided an exclusive presentation on “Gender Issues in the U.S. Supreme Court and Hollywood Movies” which looked at law and culture with regard to women including how issues involving women have evolved in the nation’s highest court and how the movie industry has portrayed women at these same times. Her presentation was MCLE certified and fulfills the Elimination of Bias requirement for attorneys. The March 29 luncheon was sponsored by Skorheim & Associates, AAC.

WHW was founded by two legal professionals and survivors of domestic abuse who faced the task of rebuilding their professional wardrobes and self-esteem to return to the workforce in 1993. WHW has grown from providing 63 women with professional apparel to help prepare them for interviews 25 years ago to now serving more than 8,000 job seekers (men and women) each year and empowering them to navigate a complex job search with a multitude of tools. WHW is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and since its inception has served over 90,000 job seekers with programs including Employment Readiness Workshops, Computer Training, Job Placement Assistance, Employment Retention Assistance and Professional Apparel including interview-appropriate apparel and accessories.

WHW helps people get and keep good jobs including through educating job seekers on relevant social media strategies, elevator speeches, networking, mock interviews, informational interviews, Skype interviews, business cards, digital resumes, personal branding and marketing strategies that enable a candidate to clearly demonstrate the value they bring to an employer. WHW is the only agency in Orange County addressing these items and more within a comprehensive employment support program provided to all job seekers at no cost.

WHW accepts donations year-round including clothing donations at its Irvine location (2803 McGaw Avenue). At WHW, 100% of every dollar donated goes directly to making an impact, more than 80% of job seekers obtain a job within three months and 90% of those keep that job, which increases their household income by over 300%.

For more information about Suits for a Cause and the full list of legal firms, groups and companies that participated this year visit: http://whw.org/contribute/suits-for-a-cause/.

Photo: Justice Eileen C. Moore and Honorary Chair Ron Brand of The Brand Firm at the 8th Annual “Suits for a Cause” celebratory luncheon on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at the Orange County Bar Association in Newport Beach, Calif. Seventy-four law firms and legal businesses and organizations joined together for the 8th Annual “Suits for a Cause” clothing drive supporting job seekers of nonprofit WHW during the month of March. / Photo Courtesy of WHW