HARTFORD — Nancy Lublin doesn’t remember much from her days at West Hartford Beth Israel’s Hebrew School, with two major exceptions.
“I remember two things from Hebrew school — the phrase shecket b’vakashah [quiet please] and I remember tzedakah. That’s all I remember, but that obviously left an impression on me, both of them,” Lublin said.
Her belief in tzedakah actually led her to start Dress for Success, a nonprofit organization that provides appropriate work clothing to low-income women seeking employment.
Clients are referred to their local Dress for Success by member agencies, such as homeless shelters and job-training programs. Each woman receives one suit when she has a job interview, and a second when she gets a job. Clients are also provided with a matching blouse, as well as shoes and accessories.
Lublin has been featured in a recent edition of “60 Minutes,” as well as in publications such as the New York Times and McCall’s.
West Hartford-born Lublin started the organization in New York City a few years ago when she inherited $5,000 from her great-grandfather.
“I’ve never been somebody who is capable of just donating money and saying goodbye. I believe in grassroots organizations and getting my hands dirty,” Lublin said. “There wasn’t anybody doing this. I get dressed every morning; I know this is a real need.”
Lublin, then a law student at New York University, first hoped she could make a difference locally. “I thought it would be a nice, small, but effective project,” she said.
Today, there are Dress for Success chapters across the country, including one in Oakland. The program hopes to suit more than 15,000 clients this year.
Dress for Success relies on donations of clothing and dollars from both individuals and corporations. Celebrities including Rosie O’Donnell, Brooke Shields and Candace Bergen have contributed clothing to the program.
Clients never know who donated the suits and accessories. “We don’t say who it’s from. It’s best to give in a selfless way,” Lublin said.
Dress for Success tries to make the shopping experience a positive one for its clients.
“It can be kind of unnerving,” said Carla Schwartz, who runs Dress for Success in Hartford, along with Marcia Fine. “We try to have two people come together. That way it’s more like two friends going shopping, two buddies going out for the day.”
Dress for Success in Hartford, recently received a donation of 100 pairs of shoes from Strada Shoes and Naot, a shoe manufacturing company.
“That was unusual and delightful. Shoes are very difficult. It’s hard to get shoes that are gently worn,” Schwartz said. “Sometimes we just have no shoes for them and they don’t own shoes.”
One of the biggest challenges is finding business clothes in sizes 12 and larger.
“We need things constantly. You have to offer people something they like. It can’t be a color they hate themselves in, it doesn’t work. It would not create self-esteem and empowerment, and that is the goal,” Schwartz said.
As Dress for Success grows — plans for international expansion are in the works — Lublin faces challenges she never imagined.
“In the beginning I approached it with grad-school idealism. Now I realize I’m running a business. I had to secure trademarks, put policy manuals into place. I’ve hired people, fired people. It’s kind of a shock to me,” she said.
Lublin continues to feels driven by her original goal.
“One of the highest forms of giving is to help somebody help themselves, to let them figure out and reclaim their own destiny.”