Professional attire | Photo by Pixabay | Pexels.com
Raid-Our-Closet is a new donation-based program run by Student Advocacy and Wellness that aims to help students land a job by supplying them with professional clothing for interviews.
“Wright State does an amazing job preparing students to excel in the workforce in many ways, and the first impression a person makes in an interview, specifically what one wears, can carry a lot of influence,” said Destinee Biesemeyer, Raid-Our-Closet representative.
Professional attire
While Raid-Our-Closet primarily accepts business professional attire, business casual is accepted as well. Along with clothing, cash donations are welcomed and can be used to buy gifts cards for students if the clothing at Raid-Our-Closet isn’t the right size for them.
Money donations can also be used to buy things that students might not want to wear secondhand such as pantyhose and socks.
“Traditional business attire can be quite expensive, and especially now, finances for college students can be tight,” said Ciara Newsome, Raid-Our-Closet representative. “The clothes given to students would aim to fit their style, and don’t need to adhere to binary norms”
According to Stephanie Allen, Raid-Our-Closet representative, the plan is to allow students to take one outfit a semester from the closet. Allen’s hope is that once the program gains more traction, there will be enough donations for students to be able to take two or three business professional outfits after showing proof that they landed a job.
Students who want clothing from the program can visit the Raid-Our-Closet website and make an appointment. Students who want to donate can contact either Stephanie Allen, Destinee Biesemeyer, or Ciara Newsome.
Coronavirus setbacks
Fall 2020 was set to be Raid-Our-Closet’s debut semester, but the program faced some setbacks due to coronavirus that have pushed the grand opening to the Spring 2021 semester.
Raid-Our-Closet does not have an official office space yet, a project that was put on pause when everyone had to leave campus in March. Temporarily working out of 016 Student Union, students need to set up an appointment to visit and get clothing.
Raid-Our-Closet will find a forever home in the Student Union by the Raider Food Pantry once the office for Student Advocacy and Wellness completes its move to that location.
“We haven't gotten off the ground yet due to the physical space and coronavirus. So while we wanted it to be fall I think spring is probably a better realistic expectation for actually having the doors open like the food pantry,” said Allen.
