flynncouver's Blog

Thank You from Working Gear!

flynncouver — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:02:23 -0800

On behalf of Working Gear Clothing Society, thank you very much for your support in the recent VanCity ChangeEverything contest. The prize money will directly support our initiatives. Thanks and best wishes to the other organizations that were involved and thanks to VanCity for supporting this positive and innovative competition.

Community organizations are made up of community members. Our small non-profit association began in response to a perceived need in the Vancouver downtown and downtown eastside for the kind of services that we provide. Our organization is driven by volunteers: we have no paid staff. We provide business casual clothing or trade relevant clothing to men of modest means who are making an honest effort to enter the job market. The lack of a nice suit or lack of a pair of steel toed workboots can be a significant barrier to employment for men with limited resources. All we are trying to do is to reduce or eliminate this kind of barrier.

Our work is ongoing. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact us. If you would like to donate some mens clothing or organize a clothing drive at your workplace, please drop us a line. We are always looking for feedback, advice or a pat on the back. Please take a peek at our website at WorkingGear.ca or drop us a note at WorkingGear@gmail.com.

Thanks again for your support and participation in the ChangeEverything contest!

Changing Things in the Downtown Eastside

flynncouver — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:35:02 -0700

Working Gear is a men's Dress for Success type of organization opening its doors in Vancouver's downtown eastside. Our goal is to ensure that men of modest means wanting to head back into the labour force don't face the barrier of lack of appropriate clothing.

We would like to welcome you to our Opening Celebration on October 3 2007 at our shop at 87 East Pender Street ( across from Channel M ) from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.

Feel free to drop by, meet our Board Members and volunteers and see our shop! We will have a ribbon cutting and light refreshments will be provided!

If you are able, please bring a piece of gently used mens casual business clothes or construction gear. Hope to see you there!

Check out our website at: www.WorkingGear.ca

Drop us an email at: WorkingGear@gmail.com

Changing Opportunities for Men in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (Part 3)

flynncouver — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:18:11 -0700

Want to work to support practical, everyday change right in Vancouver?

Poverty issues and issues of social change right in our own backyard aren't as flashy or sexy as spending money in the third world. But great Oak trees grow from small acorns, and a small group of committed individuals is hard at work right in our own community to support those who need the most help.

Working Gear was incorporated as a non-profit society in January of 2007 to undertake work similar to that done by Dress for Success. Dress for Success works with women of modest means who are unemployed by providing them with professional clothing in which they can attend job interviews and start a new job. Working Gear does the same type of work with a focus on providing support and help to men in the Vancouver downtown and downtown eastside. We solicit business casual clothing and construction clothing and we redistribute this clothing to men who are making a serious attempt to return to work. We do not charge for this service and we work in tandem with local employment service agencies.

Our group is committed to providing the help and support that is needed by those who are most marginalized in our community. With unemployment rates at a historical low, many of the individuals who are most able to find employment by themselves have done so. We are working with the men who are most in need of secondary supports.

While our non-profit agency has a very low overhead, we must still fundraise as well as solicit clothing donations from within the lower mainland. All donations go directly to program delivery. If you'd like to share a gently used pair of construction boots or dress shirt and tie, we would be delighted to accept your donation and to see that they are used to greatest purpose.

For men of modest means in our community, the need to have clean and tidy business casual clothing can be an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining employment. Likewise, for those who want to be able to walk on to a construction site to look for work, the lack of a pair of steel toed work boots can be the difference between self-sufficiency and poverty.

Please take a few moments and check us out at our website: WorkingGear.ca or drop us an email at WorkingGear@gmail.com.

Want to change something??

flynncouver — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:31:55 -0700

Hey out there,

Want to join a small group trying to make a big change?
We're a small group of people working in the downtown eastside to change (for the better) the opportunities for men of modest means to return to the job market. Our project is called WorkingGear and we are the men's version of an organization called Dress for Success. Our goals are simple: to assist men to return to paid employment by helping to reduce barriers. These barriers can include clothes needed for a simple job interview, raingear for an outdoor worksite, a pair of steel toe workboots so a guy can walk on to a construction site to ask about work.

We provide these services at no cost to the men that want and need to use them. We solicit donations of used mens business casual clothing, or construction work gear (gently used). We organize the clothes and distribute them from our shop at 87 East Pender Street. We work by referral with a number of employment services that serve the downtown and downtown eastside areas.

Our organization is local, grass roots, community focused and growing. If you'd like to join us (we are volunteer staffed and directed), then please get in touch with us and help change the downtown eastside, one pair of workboots at a time.

Please check out our website: WorkingGear.ca, or drop us a note at WorkingGear@gmail.com

Help us change the downtown eastside one bit at a time!

flynncouver — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:15:36 -0700

Are your closets overflowing with men's 'business casual' or 'construction appropriate' clothing?If so….

We would like to help you reduce your clutter, and in the process, you will help unemployed men in the Vancouver downtown area get the clothes they need for job interviews or to find work in the construction industry.

Working Gear is a new non-profit society that assists unemployed men return to the work force by providing them with interview and work-site clothing. But in order to open our doors we need your help!

Working Gear is currently seeking high quality donations of the following items:
Construction Work boots, Coveralls, Work Belts, Construction Hard Hats, Work Gloves, Full Suits, Dress Shirts, Sports Jackets, Dress Shoes, Dress Pants, Black Pants + White Shirts. We are gratefully accepting donations of your clean and pressed items between any Saturday between 10 am -2 pm at 87 East Pender Street Vancouver B.C. Special arrangements may be arranged by calling June at 604 235 9355 x 231.

Check us out at workinggear.ca