She stood up from her table at the Sofitel ballroom, strode onto the stage and with a single line the room, filled with hundreds of men and women, started clapping rapturously. She said “My name is Bindi Mitchell and I’m a strong, independent and determined woman.”
The subtext was the cause for wild applause; there was a time that she wasn’t strong or independent or determined. She didn’t go into too much detail but she explained that four years earlier she was emerging from a cycle of despair that had spanned 12 years. She had been in and out of institutions, she had dealt with addictions and unhealthy relationships. She wasn’t really living and she was tired. But she decided she wanted to give living “life on life’s terms” a proper go. For that to happen she needed a job.
She had been told of a place where she could go to get a suitable outfit for a job interview. She rode her bike on a stinking hot January day to this place with low expectations and even lower confidence. She walked out quite a different person. Not just because she had been given a new outfit but because she had been given something even better; hope.
The women at the Dress for Success centre in Parramatta didn’t just dress her, they were kind, they were encouraging and they treated her with dignity and respect. In her words, they made her feel human. Bindi said it planted this tiny seed of hope that gave her a tremendous boost. She went for an interview, got the job and worked her way into a managerial position. She loved the thrill and routine and security of receiving a regular pay check and being able to pay her bills.
After a couple of years she decided it was time to do what she really wanted, to become a personal trainer. She did the course and now runs her own business helping other women to get fit and healthy. Just the day before one of her clients thanked her and said what a difference she makes to her life. Bindi stood there and said a few years earlier the idea of anyone saying she was making a positive difference to anyone’s life was unimaginable.
Listening to Bindi speak with pride about the change she has created in her life was unbelievably inspiring. She stood before us at the annual Dress for Success gala event in Sydney in the first outfit the organisation had provided her. The clothes themselves were obviously valuable in allowing Bindi to present for an interview looking professional but the most valuable part was the undeniable message in being given those clothes. That she was worthy of being dressed, of being employed and of being independent. Her confidence, her story and her sincere gratitude were powerfully persuasive in illustrating why Dress for Success exists and why its existence is vital.
Dress for Success Sydney is a registered charity established to promote the economic independence of women in need by providing professional attire, a network of support and career development tools to help women thrive in work and life. There is no doubt that getting more women into leadership positions in business and in government is of huge national importance. Bindi reminded me, however, that on a day-to-day basis getting a woman into a job is far more important. Because a job is the difference between a cycle of despair and independence.
If you’re in Sydney this weekend and want to support this organisation that helps make that difference to thousands of women you might like to support the Instyle Ultimate Designer Sale. It really is shopping for a good cause.