YES! Columbus

Young Executives for Success Columbus

Dress for Success

Women2Women: The Value of Female Mentors

Earlier this month YES! Columbus talked about the benefits of finding balance between career and personal life. The YES community is a testament to how multifaceted women are today. Not only are women leading in their career fields, they’re also volunteering and serving as leaders in the community, running side hustles and starting businesses, and caring for families all while managing to make it to a 6am spin class.  

With such full plates, it can undoubtedly be challenging to strike that perfect balance between career and home. But you don’t have to go at it alone; having a strong support system can make a big difference. At YES, we often emphasize the importance of community-building and support in empowering and uplifting women. When speaking to the women that inspire us, or hearing how they managed to attain their professional goals, they often credit having at least one influential person who made all the difference.

Dress For Success Columbus understands that need and has implemented a program that links women together through mentorship. In fostering a safe and supportive environment, Women2Women (W2W) helps both mentor and mentee build upon their professional development and shape a rewarding career journey. Read below to learn more.

The TL;DR

W2W is a 6-month commitment where mentors and mentees spend at least 2-4 hours per month meeting, building rapport, and evaluating progress. Mentors and mentees work together to set attainable goals, check-in, and celebrate graduation upon completion of the program.

Director of Programs, Arica Morgan spoke to YES about how the W2W program “is designed to help mentees be successful in their next phase of life”. W2W connects women at different stages of their career from a variety of industries and professional backgrounds. The program doesn’t focus on a specific career track or background, rather it is open to women at any level in their chosen profession who want to network, set and achieve career goals, and grow professionally.

W2W can also be a welcome resource for women in traditionally male-dominated fields or workplaces where there aren’t many other women who look like them. W2W connects women from a variety of backgrounds and shared experiences. Mentoring can also serve as a resource for women just starting out in their careers as well as women further along, whether they’re re-entering the workforce after raising a family or encountering later-stage career transitions. For some, connecting with other women who are going through or have encountered the same challenges can be just as helpful as the goal setting itself. Program Manager, Bridgett McKinnon, signed up for W2W upon navigating a return to the workplace after having a child. She was connected with a mentor and noted how “having guidance and encouragement, and a support system” was instrumental for her during significant life transitions. 

So, why mentorship?

Mentorship is beneficial to both the mentee and mentor. While the mentee certainly receives the benefit of guidance and support, heightened confidence, and an increased network, program mentors say the program is just as beneficial to their own growth. Mentoring not only offers mentors the opportunity to reflect on their own growth and career journeys, but develop coaching skills, gain new perspectives and insight into their staff, and allow them to lend their experience and insights to help others.

Interested in becoming a mentor or learning more about Women2Women? Visit the program website here.

Friendly Candle and YES Partner to Bring You a Candle That Gives Back

YES is excited to announce a new partnership with Friendly Candle! Friendly Candle is a local candle company started by two friends with the goal of a greener Earth. Every part of their candles are meant to be used, reused and recycled. The candles are 100% all natural soy wax to ensure a clean and long (60+ hour!) burn. Each candle has a seed paper disc label that when planted, grows wild flowers. Good for the environment and good for you. 

This partnership has allowed YES to create a candle that is now available for purchase with 50% of the proceeds going back to Dress for Success Columbus! We are excited to debut our new candle called BRIGHT by YES! Columbus x Friendly Candle. Click here to purchase your candle and to support a brighter future for  Dress for Success clients!

A Letter to You, YES Community

Hello YES Community!

Brenna here, introducing myself as your 2021 YES Executive Board President and WOW, that feels a little weird to say. Can you believe we’re only a few short weeks away from 2021? It’s pretty hard to imagine when this past year has felt as long as five years and as short as two months all at once. Like many of you, I can hardly wait to start planning for next year. But before I get ahead of myself, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate 2020. Again, feels a little weird to say! However, despite all of the challenges and roadblocks we’ve experienced this year, I can’t help but be proud of what YES was able to accomplish. 

We dug deep, got creative, and put in the work to make sure Dress for Success could persevere for women in need. Like many other businesses and nonprofits, Dress for Success Columbus was greatly impacted by the stay-at-home order and other necessary protocol changes in response to COVID-19. When the boutique was able to re-open in May 2020, YES members were some of the first volunteers in the door! Since then we’ve continued our commitment to Dress for Success’s programmatic and financial sustainability. Whether we were volunteering at additional FAB Sales, supporting D3 and Beyond the Suit, or redesigning our fundraising strategy, the YES community has shown up and SHOWN OUT. 

We focused on mental health and supporting one another through difficult times. In a year where it was impossible to ignore or put off the stress of changing work expectations, the loss of regular personal interaction, and other life disruptions, YES chose to emphasize mental health for our community. In May we ran a Mental Health Awareness campaign on our social media channels, including an IGTV series highlighting some of Columbus’s self-care gurus! In June we invited members to “De-Stress with YES!” providing the opportunity for a very important and therapeutic conversation about inequality in our community. Just this month, my fellow Board Member Jenn Cartmille opened up about her mental health journey in honor of World Mental Health Day on our blog. We all know that mental health is essential to our well-being, but I’m so grateful to be a part of an organization like YES that truly makes it a priority.

We learned A LOT about working from home and continue to create opportunities to grow virtually! If you’re anything like me, the transition to working from home was a struggle. I went from working “hands-on” and traveling three days a week to sitting behind a screen at a makeshift office in my dining room. Still, I was blessed to remain employed. Not all women in our community were so lucky. So in this last half of the year, we’ve made it our priority to find new ways to support women in the workplace and getting back to work. Hopefully, you were able to join us for the Know Your Worth Panel where we talked about salary negotiation and career advancement. Or maybe you were able to snag a new headshot for your conference calls at our annual Headshot Event! If not, there’s still time to join us on Nov. 10 for our Networking from Home event with Chris Borja! The rules are changing every day as we all adjust to “the new normal.” YES is as committed as ever to making sure you have the support and resources you need to succeed!

WOW, again. What a wild, sometimes frustrating, and yet wonderful year it’s been. But what comes next? It’s still hard to say what 2021 will look like, and if it’ll even be all that different from 2020. I can tell you that for me, and my vision for YES, the goals are simple and true to what they’ve always been. I want to keep building our community, making YES a space where every woman in Central Ohio feels represented, valued, and empowered. I want to continue innovating, finding new ways and new partners, to not only support but advance the mission of Dress for Success Columbus. Finally, I want to keep growing. Personally, alongside you, because of you, for our future, for the future of women we’ve yet to meet and in-service to those who have come before us.

The thing I’m looking forward to most is to keep connecting with all of you – I am a part of YES because the opportunity to serve alongside empowered women is essential to the success of all. I encourage you to reach out if I can be of service to you and your journey! I can’t wait to meet you and see what we can accomplish together in 2021. 

– Brenna, 2021 YES! Columbus President

Meet Tasha: Her Passion Will Inspire You

“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams

These are some powerful words spoken by a strong woman and we are here for it. It is so important to foster a community of women empowering other women and that is exactly what we do. Our community supports Dress for Success’ mission to empower women to achieve economic independence, and as we continue in our crusade, we always find ourselves in the presence of amazing women. Our duty is to make sure that you are introduced to these women, so that you can be inspired and we can continue to cheer one another on.

The woman we would like to recognize and introduce you to is Tasha Jones. She works a full-time job at Ohio Domestic Violence Network, while still supporting her community by volunteering at Dress for Success, where she was awarded the prestigious Woman of Power Award in 2018.  We know once you read her interview that you’ll be inspired by her as much as we are. Without further ado, continue reading to learn more about Tasha’s story and her impact on our community! 

Q: How did you first become involved in Dress for Success?

Tasha: I first became involved with Dress for Success during the first few weeks of it opening, by donating several business suits and outfits to the boutique. 10 years later, I became a client after graduating from college, getting a new job and needing a wardrobe enhancement.

 Q: Why do you think what Dress for Success does is so important for the community? 

Tasha: I think it is important for the community because everyone has a story, but not everyone can let their guard down when sharing their story. Dress for Success has made women in the community find confidence in themselves, or regain confidence that’s been lost due to life circumstances. The holistic approach to empowering women is like no other. Women can share their story, and know that they are joining a sisterhood that accepts them and wants to see them truly succeed. 

Q: As a lead volunteer for the Fill-A-Bag Sale, what does your commitment look like and what impact does this sale have on our community?

Tasha: As a Lead, I will begin by making sure all the shifts and duties are covered. I will monitor social distancing practices and safety, track the 30-minute shopping sessions, pop in and out on the crowd that’s lined up outside, keeping the boxes and floor stocked, just overall monitoring and ensuring operations are running smoothly. I am so looking forward to it! The importance to the community are levels. One, it’s a fundraiser to continue operations at Dress for Success for women, it’s a way for so many women to get incredible clothing and accessories that they normally may not be able to afford, at a great price. This helps to build and restore confidence, gets them more prepared for work and play. I bought my dress for 2019 D3 (Dine, Drink, Dress),  which is of course another amazing annual fundraising event for Dress for Success, at the bag sale the month prior to the event.  With this year’s D3 coming up virtually next month, this could be another opportunity to get something that would normally not be on the financial radar. 

Q: What steps did you take to become a lead volunteer?

Tasha: The step I took to become a Lead Volunteer was inadvertent. I enjoy giving back in as many ways as I can, and one is at each bag sale.  I have a great time doing multiple duties for Fill-A-Bag Sale, and have become a voice for marketing, crowd control, inventory, and other promotions. I have so much fun doing all that, I unknowingly became a crowd and staff favorite. 😊 When I was asked to be a Lead, I was honored and excited.

Q. After becoming involved in Dress for Success and continually empowering and inspiring women, you were recognized as Dress for Success’ 2018 Woman of Power, what did that mean to you?

Tasha: After being recognized as the 2018 Woman Of Power meant everything to me. It was very emotional, and I was so humbled to have received that honor for being exactly who I am. To be recognized in that way for doing the things that have always mattered and come natural to me, while being my authentic self, reminded me that I needed to continue staying true to myself and what I believe in. I believe the importance of empowering those around me. 

Q: Any parting words for our readers?

Tasha:  I am the self proclaimed Fill-A-Bag Sale Queen! I love telling people where I got items from, when getting complimented on my looks. If I can give back my time and help raise money for such a worthy cause, and look great doing it, I’m winning right? When promoting the event, I get to explain why we do it and it gives people even reason to want to participate. I hope all the readers come on out, shop and support Dress for Success and know that you will have a piece of empowering the women of Central Ohio. 

We hope that having the opportunity to hear from Tasha has inspired you, like she has inspired us. As you can see, Tasha embodies what it means to empower other women and we are so thankful for her. We cannot thank her enough for taking the time to chat with us and we are forever grateful for her. Our hope is that you are walking away being inspired and wondering how you can get involved to continue empowering other women. The Fill-A-Bag Sale that Tasha spoke about is coming up Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 and we would love to see you there.

All details and registration can be found here to volunteer for the upcoming Fill-A-Bag Sale. 

YES is a community of women celebrating other women in moments of collaboration and success. We lift each other up by empowering others. We bring women together by championing the mission of Dress for Success Columbus. 

5 Things We Bet You Didn’t Know About Yes! Columbus

1. Everything (and we mean everything) we do supports Dress for Success (DFS) Columbus.

From the membership dues we charge, to the ticket costs to our events, to the fundraising dollars and in-kind donations we seek from our corporate sponsors — every dime we earn is donated back to DFS Columbus. YES! Columbus is fully owned by DFS Columbus operates under their 501c(3) title.

2. Our number one mission is to support other women.

#Womensupportingwomen is not just a hashtag we use on our Instagram, it’s what we do every day. Our mission is to empower women to succeed professionally and economically. The best part about being a member of the YES community is that you are not only investing in your own growth, your participation also supports the growth of other women in our city. It’s a win-win.

3. Everyone is welcome.

Although our content is geared more toward women (and even though the “Y” in YES stands for “Young”) our community is diverse and open to everyone regardless of age, gender, race, sexual orientation or religious background. If you have a passion for seeing women succeed, you belong here.

4. All of our events, content and programming are the result of the hard work of our board members.

Our Board of Directors is what’s known as a “volunteer working board.” This means that every board member donates their time to YES in addition to holding a full-time job. Everything we do needs to run on as lean of a budget as possible, meaning that we consistently rely on the generous donations (both in-kind and monetary) of our board members, volunteers, and corporate partners. Interested in learning about the amazing women who make up the YES Board? Read our bios here.

5. We think everyone should know about YES

Each time a new community members find us, their first reaction is always, “I can’t believe I didn’t know YES existed before now!” We know, we can’t believe it either.  The empowerment our members experience from being part of this community is unparalleled. That’s why we encourage our audience to tell their friends, family and co-workers about YES. Not only are we are stronger together, the larger our community is the more good we can do for the underprivileged  women in our community.

Ready to increase your engagement with us? Read my post on ways to get involved with YES here!

–   Erin

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