A busy corporate client called this week because she wanted to donate several of her gently used business suits to a Dress for Success boutique in the Boston area. Because she lived in the Metrowest area, the Worcester location was the closest for her donation drop-off. She had considered donating her suits to other organizations, such as the Salvation Army and the Savers thrift store, but she liked that Dress for Success provided the suits to women in need rather than having them pay.
Because donations to the Dress for Success boutique are by appointment only, we called the charity and scheduled the 11AM slot on a Thursday.
We arranged with the client to pick up her suits from her home in Framingham the day before the appointment (a Wednesday), because it was the only day of the week she was working from home and would be available to meet with us.
On the day we picked up the client’s suits, we were given six suit separates, including blazers, skirts, and pants, most with designer labels by Jones New York and Tahari. What we did not expect was how heavy it would be to carry several women’s suits in our arms. The suits would be placed flat and unwrinkled in our car and covered, ready for delivery first thing in the morning.
On a damp and cool Thursday morning, we headed off onto Route 9 heading westward by 9:45AM, because we know it would take at least an hour to drive from Boston to Worcester. The holiday shoppers were a little delayed and much of the morning rush-hour traffic heading into Boston had died down, so it was a smooth ride traveling west. As we approached closer to signs for Interstate 290, traffic got slower and the lanes got narrower. From Route 9, we made a left onto Major Taylor Boulevard, then a sharp right turn onto Thomas Street, and followed by a left turn onto Main Street. The Worcester boutique for Dress for Success is housed in a building across the street from Worcester City Hall.
We arrived at the boutique by 10:50AM. Pulling up to the building, we called the coordinator to alert her of our arrival and a friendly woman came down to our car immediately with a wheeled cart and clipboard in-hand to pick up our client’s suit donations. We provided her with our client’s name and address, so that a tax receipt could be written up. We would later mail the tax receipt to the client as proof of delivery.
The woman who worked at the boutique was happy to receive the donation and we were happy to assist our client with this time-consuming task during the season of giving.
Images credit: Susan Ho
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