Down to business: Feb. 10 clothing drive seeks attire to benefit Women's Center clients

Dr. Ethel Andrews won't soon forget the man who came up to the table where she and others were accepting clothing donations to benefit clients of the Women's Center of Brevard.

"His wife had just died, and he'd seen an article about the drive in the newspaper," said Andrews, her voice softening at the thought.

"And he said, 'My wife would have wanted these women to have these clothes.'"

That poignant story is just one of the scenes that stood out for Andrews at the second "Dress for Success" event in September 2023. On Feb. 10, she and other members of the Brevard chapter of The Links, Incorporated, in partnership with The Women's Center of Brevard, will greet donors again, hoping to collect more "gently used" business clothing appropriate for job interviews and on-the-job attire. Donations can be dropped off between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at The Women's Center Counseling Center, 1425 Aurora Road, Melbourne.

Good suits, skirts, blouses, slacks and shoes; purses, scarves and other accessories are welcomed, she said, and those participating in the drive are grateful for every stitch of apparel.

Andrews, a psychiatrist, has seen it in action; heard stories of the gratitude of Women's Center clients who've left abusive situations with nothing on their backs and children to raise, only to find safety, guidance, jobs and peace as they began to navigate new lives. The center's services include counseling, sexual assault victim services, victim advocacy, prevention and youth services and housing.

"When you know someone cared enough about your success, believed that you have a future, enough to clothe you, you feel surrounded by their love as you go," Andrews said.

There’s a great need for clothing options for women starting a new life and career path, especially those who might be unfamiliar with — and have no access to — "business casual" attire, Sierra Thompson of the Women's Center said in a September 2023 interview with FLORIDA TODAY.

"We have people who are trying to get out on their own and having that outfit might help them land a job; give them confidence that's super helpful," said Thompson, the center's director of volunteer management and strategic initiatives.

Building confidence, new lives

The Links, Incorporated, an international not-for-profit established in 1946, is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations. It counts among its members more than 16,000 professional women of African descent as members, in 299 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom. Among the notable names who've joined their ranks are Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. Rep. Val Demings.

Andrews said the mission of The Women's Center dovetails perfectly with The Links' core values: friendship, integrity, honesty, service, commitment, family relationships, courage, respect for self and others, responsibility, and accountability.

"The Women's Center, I would say, is a beacon of hope for battered, abandoned, abused, women with mental illness, depressed, but a more appropriate term would be 'bonfire,'" she said.

"Bonfire because of the personalities that are so earnest in turning over every stone to find women the legal, medical and counseling help they need. And they have done it for decades."

Often, she said, she's been in a restaurant and overheard a woman, perhaps in her 50s, telling a friend how the Women's Center helped her in her youth.

"I come across plenty of women who are experiencing loss, pain, devastation in their lives. They all come back, refreshed, knowing that even a stranger cared about them.," Andrews said.

"There are women who go back and volunteer at the Women’s Center, just because their help made a big difference in their lives."

Britt Kennerly is education/breaking news editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Kennerly at 321-917-4744 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly Facebook: /bybrittkennerly

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Dress for success: Clothing drive will help Brevard women in need