Dress for Success Columbus held its annual Dine. Drink. Dress. fundraiser at The Franklin Park Conservatory on June 28. CityScene had the chance to catch up with one of the many women Dress has empowered, Genesis Shine, to talk about her experiences with the organization.
"I’ve been around Dress for about a year and my experience has been awesome,” says Shine. “Career-wise, my mentors are awesome and even this experience coming here and being dressed by Express, they were really nice to me."
Genesis Shine
When it comes to choosing an outfit to complement her style and personality, Shine says it's often hard for her to make a decision.
"I’m indecisive, so that’s what’s great about when you go to Dress," says Shine. "You just sit there and people dress you, and so they’re picking out clothes for you and you just get to pick out what you like."
Though looking the part and feeling confident is an important part of what Dress does, the mentorship and professional opportunities are just as beneficial.
"(Dress) gets involved with your careers, your passions, whatever your interests are," says Shine. "So for me, I do marketing and I do public relations and they’ve been able to send me places. I even did an interview with (Piper Kerman) from Orange is the New Black at the Book Loft."
Above all else, Dress for Success Columbus provides its clients with a supportive community full of other ambitious, confident and successful women.
"I’ve felt very supported; I’ve never had a girl tribe and working with Dress I definitely have a huge one now," says Shine.
Dress for Success programs are all free of charge and any woman referred by a community partner is eligible for service. With the community’s support, since opening its doors in 2007, Dress has empowered over 14,000 women to achieve their potential in central Ohio.
To learn more about programs, donation needs and volunteering, visit www.dfscmh.org.
Jenny Wise is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at jwise@cityscenemediagroup.com.
