CCC-23698 May June 2014.indd

beauty&fashion
educate. enrich. empower.
Helping Women on the
Brink to Fashion New Lives
By Charlene Ann McGrady, Board Member, Wings for Success
W
INGS FOR SUCCESS IS DEDICATED to women’s economic
empowerment, a subject much in the news this year. The nonprofit has made local headlines in 2014 with its first spring fashion
show and the recent recognition of its board president as the West
Chester University (WCU) Foundation Woman of the Year.
skills they need to navigate the workplace. Wings clients receive up to
two weeks’ worth of work-appropriate outfits and accessories valued at
approximately $500. This allows them to allocate their limited financial
resources to housing, food or childcare. More than three-quarters of the
women served support at least one child and have annual incomes below
$10,000.
In this land of plenty, according to the Shriver Report, 42 million American
women and 28 million children who rely on them live in poverty. Their
financial vulnerability was the subject of the landmark Shriver Report
in January and the recent HBO documentary, “Paycheck to Paycheck,”
about a single mother’s daily struggle to make ends meet. Locally, Wings
for Success is on the front lines with women striving to fashion more
financially stable lives.
“Like the women profiled in the Shriver Report and the HBO documentary,
Wings clients are on the brink of getting ahead or falling behind,” says
Executive Director LeeAnn Riloff. “We help them move forward.”
To support its work, Wings held its first Spring
Fashion Show on March 29 at Immaculata
University. With QVC Program Host Rachel
Boesing as emcee, the fundraiser featured fashions
from local boutiques and designs by Immaculata
students, along with a silent auction, fashion and
beauty vendors, and style workshops. The crowd
favorite was a competition in which Wings clients
modeled outfits created by Wings volunteers.
Over the past 16 years, the non-profit organization has provided more
than 8,000 women with the professional apparel, confidence and life
PHOTO: HANNON FEARN
Because of her leadership of Wings’ efforts to help
women to “strut their stuff ” in the workplace, Mary Pat Knauss,
Board President Mary Pat Knauss was recently board president,
named the West Chester University Foundation Wings For Success
Woman of the Year. The award recognizes
professional and/or volunteer achievements that have a positive impact
on women and/or girls. A retired Hewlett-Packard executive with a WCU
chemistry degree and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School, Knauss says it has been gratifying to help Wings to
grow and serve more women in need.
“We live in one of the wealthiest counties in the country,” she says, “but
there is considerable hidden poverty. It’s satisfying to give back to the
community you live in.”
Visit www.wingsforsuccess.org or call 610-644-6323 to learn how you can
support the Wings for Success mission to help women on the brink to soar.
QVC Program Host Rachel Boesing (left) and Wings Executive Director LeeAnn
Riloff (center) congratulate Alecia Moore (right), winner of the client style
competition portion of the fashion show.
PHOTO: HANNON FEARN
www.womensjournalcc.com
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May/June 2014