Her Next Chapters

74. Podcasthon: Empowering Women, One Outfit at a Time. Guest Jennifer Waines, Dress for Success

• Christina Kohl

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This special episode features Jennifer Waines, Operations Manager at Dress for Success Denver, as part of the global Podcasthon movement highlighting nonprofits worldwide during the third week of March. Dress for Success began in New York in 1996 has grown to over 100 affiliates across multiple countries, with the Denver location serving 22,000+ women since 2006.

While known for providing professional clothing, Dress for Success Denver offers comprehensive support through four key programs: their boutique providing complete professional ensembles, a career center offering interview coaching, the Professional Women's Group for employed women to network monthly, and their Butterfly Bus bringing services directly to communities. Jennifer beautifully describes witnessing women's transformations: "There is nothing quite like seeing the look in a woman's face when she is confident in her own skin, puts that blazer on and sees herself as worthy."

The organization welcomes volunteers for donation days, as personal shoppers, or career coaches. In honor of Women's History Month, supporters are encouraged to donate one hour of salary to support the mission of empowering women toward economic independence.

Denver specific events:
Donation Days - second Saturday monthly
Pop-up shop on August 2, 2025, held at Jewish Community Center, 350 South Dahlia 

Fashion Show Gala on September 12, 2025, held at the Denver Museum of  Nature and Science

For more information: 
DressForSuccess.org   ||  Donate to Dress For Success  jennifer.dressforsuccess@gmail.com

To find and listen to other podcasts showcasing non-profits, go to:  Podcasthon || Instagram || LinkedIn 

Grab the Free Strengths-First Resume Template - it's perfect for anyone in career transitions, whether with a long career gap, a career pivot, or just ready for a change.
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Send me an email ---> christina@hernextchapters.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn ---> www.linkedin.com/in/kohlchristina





Christina Kohl:

Hi and welcome to Her Next Chapter's podcast. I'm your host, Christina Kohl. I'm a mom of three and soon to be an empty nester. I'm also a certified HR pro who restarted my career after being a stay-at-home mom for over a decade. I created this podcast to connect with moms who have an empty nest on the horizon and are wanting to redefine their identity outside of motherhood, which might include a job search. On this show, we'll have raw conversations about our ever-changing roles as moms. We'll hear from women who restarted their careers and share tips for a job search after a career break. So if that's you, you're in the right place. Friend, let's get started.

Christina Kohl:

Hey friends, this week is a really special edition of Her Next Chapter's podcast because I am joining podcasters from literally around the world in Podcast hon and I don't know if I'm even saying that correctly, but Podcast hon is an international movement with almost 1700 podcasts from 47 countries that are taking this week, the third week of March to highlight nonprofits, and so I, of course, wanted to be a part of that. I will include a link in the show notes to Podcast hon so that you can check out all these amazing other podcasts that are highlighting nonprofits from around the world, and the nonprofit that I've chosen to highlight is Dress for Success in the Denver location. It has been my honor and privilege to be able to volunteer with Dress for Success Denver in their career services, where I've spent time with women preparing them for their interviews, and I've also had the really fun opportunity to help them in the boutique, picking out outfits and making them feel like a million bucks in the new clothes that they're walking out with. So, of course, when I thought of who am I going to highlight, what organization, I chose Dress for Success, and my guest today, Jennifer Waines, is the Operations Director, and so she is joining us on the podcast to talk about all the amazing things that this organization does, and they are worldwide. So while the things she's talking about are primarily based in Denver, this organization has a presence in countries around the world. I believe it's over a hundred locations. So if you're not in the Denver area and you want to get involved, you're just going to go to dressforsuccess. org and look up your area to see if there's an opportunity for you to get involved there, whether it's as a client receiving services or as a volunteer.

Christina Kohl:

Okay, so, with that introduction, let's jump into my conversation with Jennifer.

Christina Kohl:

Well, welcome everyone to this week's episode of Her Next Chapters. I have with me today Jennifer Waines. Jennifer is from Dress for Success, the Denver office, and she is here to talk to us about this incredible organization and how it serves our community. Welcome, Jennifer, we're so glad to have you.

Christina Kohl:

Thank you so much for having me, absolutely. So let's just start off- Tell us, for those that don't know, that maybe haven't heard of Dress for Success, what is it? How did it get started? What is the mission of the organization?

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, absolutely so. Dress for Success Denver is a global nonprofit. It originally started in 96 in New York. Nancy Loveland created it and the mission is to empower women to achieve economic independence. So the number changes, but we have over 100 affiliates across 25 countries. Yes, that's exciting. And Dress for Success Denver is the only affiliate here in Colorado, so we serve the state. Dress for Success Denver has been open since 2006. And since that date we have served well over 22,000 women in the boutique space alone and given out more than a million dollars worth of items. So and when I say items, we provide head to toe makeovers in our boutique space, everything from clothing to purses, cosmetics and jewelry items.

Christina Kohl:

I didn't realize it was that many people that you had served or that dollar amount. And I've been in the boutique. It's beautiful and so many different clothes and jewelry and shoes and handbags, all of it. It's amazing what people are able to walk away with with a full outfit walking out the door. Not outfit, but like an ensemble, absolutely like an ensemble, and the confidence that I've personally have seen in the women when I've been there, the confidence that having those new clothes and feeling like the professional that they are, so that's amazing. So, Jennifer, how long have you worked there and what is your role?

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, so I have been the Operations Manager here at Dress for Success since September of 2021. My background actually was journalism. I was in the newspaper industry for 14 years before I completely switched careers and learned how to transfer the skills that I learned there into the nonprofit sector when I interviewed.

Jennifer Waines:

I guess they saw something in me that aligned with their mission of really helping to elevate women's voices and coming from a place of service and serving our community

Jennifer Waines:

yeah, that's amazing. I love to talk about pivots on this show, so that is a really big career. Pivot from journalism to nonprofit and operations, so that is amazing. Well, tell us a little bit more about the women that you all serve, like. What are their stories and situations that you can share?

Jennifer Waines:

Absolutely. So I'll back up a little bit. We do serve women who are 16 and older, who are going into the workforce, right about to start that journey. So if they're preparing for interviews or if they have internships or temporary jobs or if they have full-blown employment, um, those women come from all walks of life. Um, we see we have about um over 100 referral partners. So those are places like churches, schools, um other non-profits, temp agencies, basically anyone who is working to get women into the workforce. They can refer clients to us. Since the pandemic, we've also opened it up to self-referrals. So word of mouth is great advertising for us. Women come here. They feel very empowered. They leave feeling confident and ready to tackle their interview and tackle their job and they tell their friends and their daughters and all the women in their life. And so, yeah, we've become a place where you really come to get your cup filled, not just the women, but the volunteers as well. It's such a supportive environment for everyone who really walks in the store.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, absolutely. And, like I said, I've seen that firsthand and you think of, at least I used to think of Dress for Success, all about the clothes, but you mentioned briefly there's the interview coaching as well. So tell us a little bit more about that. I mean, I've done it, but I'd like to hear from you with your perspective.

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, well, and I would be remiss so I mentioned all the other affiliates. Everyone has their own programs. Here in Denver we have four. So the boutique is obviously the first one usually how people can introduce to us the career center. So we train volunteers to work directly with clients to help prepare them for when they get in that interview room to really sign, clearly sign. We coach them on elevator speeches, right Star stories, how to deal with difficult questions like gaps in resumes or felony convictions. We believe every woman has skill sets and that she may not be bragging about herself enough, right, and so we want to inspire confidence to say you know what I do have worth, I do have skills and I'm going to be amazing at this job. And we aren't fixing anybody here, but we're really just showing them a path right and showing them the way to empower themselves. So that is the Career Center, so that's two programs.

Jennifer Waines:

We also have our Professional Women's Group, which is our networking group. So once we know you have a job, you're invited to join that group. In fact all employed women, yourself included, could join, and we meet monthly. So there's usually a really great workforce development speaker who talks on different topics every month there's a catered meal and really the women just find sisterhood and friendship there. I know women who have gone there for 10 years and haven't missed one meeting, you know, just because of that friendship and that support.

Jennifer Waines:

I've also heard of women who have gone into that room, you know, sad because they interviewed for a job and didn't get it. So they really find like loving voices who support them right and encourage them to not stop trying and to network. Like, hey, maybe that job didn't work out for you, but I know of these other opportunities, let's collaborate, let's connect Along with that. Pwg, the Professional Women's Group, we also offer things like digital literacy classes, financial literacy classes, entrepreneurial training, free workshops online. I will mention everything that we provide is 100% free to our clients, but, yeah, just continuing to grow and learn and improve on oneself in that again supportive environment.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, and that's amazing. It's so much more than just the clothes that you guys offer. And the community aspect, I think, is really huge. Any kind of job search is isolating and lonely and filled with rejection. So having that support and community around you and you never know what opportunities might come out of that as well, so that's amazing that that's available and I guess I didn't realize that was available to anyone in the community. So that's amazing and I'm glad to be able to help share that news. And, you know, bring more.

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, it's really wonderful. Over the last several months, maybe even a year, I've seen more even of our volunteers in the boutique. You know, go to the meetings because they get to run into the people that they serve here. They form again those friendships that support. It's pretty darn special. And we often say like it's hard to see. You know, it's easy to talk about what we do but it's hard to really see the impact until you see it on the faces and you're like, oh, I get it. Yeah, really pretty special. And then our fourth program is our newest program. We just celebrated one year with our beautiful butterfly bus. It is a 20-foot box truck that we are able to take on the road across the state of Colorado and, for now, across the Denver metro area to serve pockets of poverty and eliminate that transportation barrier. So we take our services, including education and the clothing, the boutiques, the shoes and the clothes and the jewelry on the road.

Christina Kohl:

Wow, that's amazing. And so how far do you go, like away from Denver?

Jennifer Waines:

It depends. One of our trips has been in Colorado Springs but, honestly, recently we've just been to several living facilities in the Denver metro area different schools, universities, really wherever there is a group of women who need our help. Okay, yep, that's usually organized through our director and our butterfly bus coordinator, but it's a survey type of situation, so we send out surveys and pack everything onto that bus and do the shootings on site, like in their parking lot.

Christina Kohl:

So you walk away from the bus with your new wardrobe, Exactly. Yeah, that's awesome. What are some ways that the community can get involved? If someone is like, oh, I love the mission and I want to get involved, how can people volunteer or donate, or you know what needs and opportunities are there?

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, you said it. So we always invite people to engage with us so we can figure out how they can give their time, talents and stifles. We're a nonprofit, so equity and sweat equity, right, monetary donations and volunteer hours are absolutely appreciated. We have a very small staff here. There's four employees and then last year we served, I think, in the boutique, over 1,600 people. So there's lots of folks to help and we couldn't do it without our amazing volunteers. We have three main volunteer opportunities.

Jennifer Waines:

Our donation day is the second Saturday of the month and that's when we allow people to bring in items. We need lots and lots of helping hands to go through all of those to ensure that we're keeping the best quality items for our clients. That's a great opportunity for youth, right. So teenagers, husbands, we welcome men to the table. It's heavy bags to be careful. And women who, for youth right, the teenagers, um, husbands, we welcome men to the table. You know, we, it's heavy bags to be careful, um. And women who love fashion, right. And um, who, uh, yeah, want to help our ladies really look their best on that day. That's the day we build our boutique.

Jennifer Waines:

Um, as you know, there's also uh personal stoppers who not only um dress our ladies but also teach them what's going to be appropriate in the workforce, Right, so that they're on equal footing when they walk in the door. And I can tell you, there is nothing quite like seeing the look in a woman's face when she is confident in her own skin, puts that blazer on and sees herself as that boss, or sees herself as worthy. Exactly Shoulders, back, eyes, sweet soul. Yeah, yes, they smile. Sometimes there's a happy fear. Um, you know people are. You know outfits can be powerful and it's never just about the clothes. It is um overcoming body issues, right, um, which every woman on this planet deals with, and just being celebrated for being who you are. Yeah, we never make anyone take anything they don't want to. We celebrate your own style. We are not here to change you. We are just here to um help you find the right uniform to continue on in your workforce yeah, that's awesome.

Christina Kohl:

so donation days are, you said, the second Saturday of every month, correct, at your Denver office location.

Jennifer Waines:

Okay, yep, we accept donations from 10 to 2, but volunteer hours stand a little differently. So it starts at 9.30 with a short orientation and a little training, and then we usually ask that they hang around until 2.30 or so. But if you want to stay later, you are welcome to do that too, around until 2.30 or so. But if you want to stay later.

Jennifer Waines:

You are welcome to do that too, okay, so just to be clear though, because you don't necessarily take donations on a random Tuesday, correct, during the week, we're open Tuesday through Friday, but we really want to focus on our clients. That's when we're serving our clients, and so we want to protect their privacy. We want to give them our undivided attention, and that's hard when donations come to the door. So, yes, it's very, very helpful if people can hold on to their things until Saturday donation day. It's every month, rain or shine. We've been hearing negative temperatures. I promise you'll be here. But, yes, yes, we accept items, um, okay, I'll just say we do ask that items are clean, undamaged, in season, um, and preferably pretty modern. Right, we don't want to send someone um going into an interview from like a days old course right.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, I'm thinking of the shoulder pads from the jacket. You know 20, 30 years. I can't believe who wore those. So if someone wants to volunteer, what is the process to do that, besides the donation day?

Jennifer Waines:

So, yep, I'm going to go back over one of them Career coaches. We also train volunteers to be career coaches and to meet in our center, offer those resources and really help prepare people for that interview. The first step in becoming a volunteer is usually an orientation. We have an orientation the first Thursday of every month at 6 pm here at our office. That applies if you want to work with clients. If you want to come to a donation day, just come, just tell me you're interested in coming, we'll take, we take the, we take people on that day and do the training that day.

Jennifer Waines:

However, if you do want to work with clients or you're just interested in learning more about our day-to-day operations, definitely check out that, dssd 101. Again, that is the first Thursday of the month at six and then from there you get a tour of our facility. You can hear a video and hear directly from our beautiful, wonderful clients about how they were impacted by the services they received, how they're excelling at life, um, and then we move forward. We see what you want to do. Um, you know, do you take headshots? Do you want to be a speaker? You know, at a future meeting like what you know, how do we want to become involved. Do Do we want to become a corporate?

Christina Kohl:

Which are all wonderful avenues. Okay, so a lot of different ways to plug in and volunteer and check it out, and one thing that you brought to my mind, because I've gone through the volunteer training, is the confidentiality piece.

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, we really respect our ladies and their journey and there's no shame in anyone's background. You know, obviously we're a place that leads to second chances. But yes, that being said, you know volunteers know not to spread stories right or share details of what they learn in our space.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, yeah, it's a safe place, a very safe place. Yes, all right. Well, thank you so much for all of this, jennifer. Are there any upcoming events or initiatives that you would like to share with the audience? August?

Jennifer Waines:

2nd that's a Saturday, and it will be at the Jewish Community Center, 350 South Dahlia. So we get an enormous amount of donations. We don't have room for it all, and so some of the things that we also receive may not be appropriate for the boutique, but they could end up in our sale, and so that's where you can come. Prices start as low as $2 for jewelry, but you can get some really beautiful, really amazing deals there and I know my daughter would probably love to come.

Christina Kohl:

My kids are really into thrifting for their clothes.

Jennifer Waines:

Oh, me too.

Christina Kohl:

A boy and a girl, but she definitely would probably appreciate it. Look, I got this for $3. Oh my gosh.

Jennifer Waines:

Yeah, yeah, I was like those deals are incredible. I've bought Gucci and Prada at ourselves before. I mean, you know like it's pretty, pretty outstanding. We have very dedicated shoppers, to say the least, who know about our sale and make it a.

Jennifer Waines:

Make it a bit of a party, so that's one wonderful way to celebrate it and get some really amazing things for yourself, or or Christmas shopping, whatever the case may be. And then we also have our annual fashion show gala, and that date is September 12th this year. It will be held at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and we are very excited.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, very nice. We'll definitely keep those in the show notes so that people know about them and can get all those details of the address and everything Just really quickly before we wrap up. How does, because this is going to be broadcast? I mean, I've got listeners in 200 something cities across the world. How is this different in other locations you mentioned? In Denver there's the four areas of service. Does each location offer unique things or are there some standard things that people could expect in their city?

Jennifer Waines:

So I think it really varies Among all the dress for successes. The mission remains the same, so we want to empower women. Most of it does start like in that boutique space. There are definitely larger nonprofits or larger affiliates that do have other programs and that are meeting the very specific needs of those communities, right? So, like not all, not every city is the same, and so I think each affiliate does its best to meet their clients where they are and where it is, with what resources they have as well.

Christina Kohl:

So the things we talked about are unique to Denver but might be available in other areas around the country. So, but the events are certainly Denver based but as far as the volunteer opportunities and the level of services, that's probably going to be comparable in different locations. Certainly the boutique, you said, and probably the job training as well.

Jennifer Waines:

Exactly, and I encourage anyone in those cities listening in, just go check out our our website dressforsuccessorg. There is an option to look for your country, for your city, you know, for the closest ones, and then check out their website. Reach out to them. There are definitely resources out there that can point you in the right direction to get involved.

Christina Kohl:

Alright, is there anything else that we didn't cover that you wish we would have?

Jennifer Waines:

That's a good question. That's always something we ask our ladies to consider when they're interviewing. No, I really think we covered everything other than to say and we touched on it earlier dress for success is so much more than the clothing. That may be where it starts, but that's definitely not where it is. I will mention you know we do support women and, anecdotally, from what I hear, women who come in here often put themselves last right. They're single moms, they're caretakers, they do a lot of unpaid labor. It's a joy to celebrate them and really elevate them and teach them everything they're capable of and encourage them to go for that promotion. I like to think we're really helping build communities because women at least in my family and my friends and women who work here are powerful. So I think they're really strong and resilient and it is exciting to come to work each and every day and encourage and inspire them to do the thing.

Christina Kohl:

Yeah, Okay, that's amazing. Well, thank you so much, Jennifer. I really appreciate you taking the time today to share about Dress for Success and all of the wonderful things that you offer to the women in the community. Thank you so much. So I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Jennifer. This is such a beautiful organization and I just so love and support their mission.

Christina Kohl:

And one thing that Jennifer mentioned to me after we were done recording is that it's Women's History Month and all month long, Dress for Success is asking for people to donate one hour of their salary or more to support their mission. So I'll put a link to where you can donate in the show notes, and they gave me a QR code. I'm not sure if that can go in the show notes, but if it can, it'll be there, all right? Well, thank you so much for listening. And check out the other podcasters that around the globe are supporting nonprofits and see if there's something else that might be of interest to you in your community. That link will be in the show notes as well.

Christina Kohl:

All right, friends. Well, that is it for this week. I hope you have a wonderful week and we'll talk to you next time. Thank you so much for listening today. I hope this episode hit home for you and, if you haven't already, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn and say hello, so I can personally thank you for listening. Until next time, remember, your story is uniquely your own, and your next chapters are ready to begin.