JTA Cares - Career Closet

Target Audience: When a group of JTA employees brainstormed ways they could band together to help people less fortunate, they decided to give to The Sulzbacher Village, a safe home for formerly homeless families, women, children and female veterans. Although some men live with their families at Sulzbacher, the JTA initiative was targeted to women.

Strategy Objective:The JTA's strategy was simple: encourage employees to donate and urge friends and family to donate gently worn garments that included dresses, suits, skirts, blouses, pants, shoes, coats, jackets and even purses. In other words, anything and everything that would be appropriate for a woman to wear when interviewing or working in a variety of fields. Size didn't matter; like women everywhere, the clients at Sulzbacher Village range from petite to plus size, so there was easily something for everyone.

Situation Challenge: To turn one's life around or create a new one after being deployed by the U. S. Armed Forces often requires getting a job. But that is easier said than done for people on low or fixed incomes who have been out of the traditional workforce for some time. The JTA recognized the challenging situation struggling women were in and, as a community partner, came up with the perfect strategy to help women get back on their feet. The team partnered with the Sulzbacher Village to create a clothing drive to build a closet of gently used business attire that could be worn to job interviews and after they began working.

Results Impact: The results of the JTA's altruism are endless. With a budget of $1,000, the effort generated more than $3,500 worth of suits, dresses, slacks, blouses, and accessories. In addition to helping women in need obtain suitable work attire, the bottom line for the Authority was to create a partnership with a reputable nonprofit to help reduce the homelessness that is plaguing downtown Jacksonville, much like cities across America. The JTA's maintenance team built a closet at the Village to house the wealth of donated items so they are readily available for the women to use when going on interviews. But the JTA didn't stop there. The Authority's Outreach team showed Sulzbacher residents how to use the JTA's trip planning tool. Being able to ride a JTA bus, the Skyway, the First Coast Flyer bus

Why Submit: The JTA's Career Closet at Sulzbacher Village deserves an AdWheel Award because it didn't cost the Authority anything but it generated a lot of goodwill. It demonstrates people still care about the less fortunate and are looking for meaningful ways to help them turn their lives around that will be sustainable. Considering the feminization of poverty, where single, female-headed households with children struggle to make ends meet on low or no wages, the business clothes will help raise their self-esteem and empower them to look for work using a safe, reliable and affordable public transportation system. When the women secure work, they don't have to worry about carving out money from their early paychecks to buy clothes to go to work. The campaign continues to get donations.