Gardere’s Executive Partner of the Austin Office, Kim Yelkin, recruits women lawyers to join cause
Austin, Texas—Dress for Success Austin, a nonprofit organization that provides business attire and help for disadvantaged women attempting to find jobs, is looking to expand its membership and raise needed funds to handle the growing demand of clients that seek services because of layoffs and tough economic times.
Kim Yelkin, Executive Partner of the Austin office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, is chair of the Corporate Guild that hopes to double the membership at a special recruiting event at the Capitol. “The Corporate Guild is the backbone of our fundraising efforts for Dress for Success. This year, the number of women coming in from shelters due to homelessness or domestic abuse has increased 25 percent and we have seen a 12 percent increase in women with college degrees needing our services,” said Yelkin. “It is essential we increase the number of women we serve in these challenging economic times.”
The goal in Austin is to double the corporate guild membership to 30 business entities and create a solid and continuous base of funding and advocacy to continue the mission of Dress for Success. Corporate Guild membership is available at two levels: $3,000 or $1,500. Last year, Dress for Success Austin provided professional attire to more than 500 women in Central Texas and this year the non-profit will easily suit more than 600.
Today, at a special event to seek new members at the Texas Capitol called “Women Helping Women,” Karen Hughes, the Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and former Counselor to President George W. Bush, called on women executives to join Dress for Success. If you would like to join Dress for Success Austin contact Executive Director Judy Chambers.
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About Dress for Success
Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the UK and the West Indies. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org to learn more.
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm celebrating 100 years in 2009 and one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of energy, hospitality, litigation, government affairs, corporate, tax, environmental, labor and employment, intellectual property and financial services.