Career closet completes competition - Westfair Communications

From left: Melissa Thompson and Stephen Greenberg, employment counselors; Leslie Meggett; Donnovan Beckford, director, Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board; OJ Yizar; Yascara Maldanado; Noemi Santana and Victor Avendano, program specialists.

The Career Closet, an effort of the White Plains Education and Training Center, is a resource for people about to go out on a job interview or just starting a job who do not have a wardrobe that will help them look the part. Staff members just completed a fall collection drive in which they acquired 188 items, including dress pants for both men and women, blouses, shirts, ties, skirts, women”™s and men”™s business suits, sweaters, dresses, coats, shoes and accessories.

Yascara Maldonado, site coordinator for the center, said that individuals looking for professional clothing must be referred by an agency; there are no walk-ins and each person can put together one outfit for an interview and five additional outfits if they get the position.

Leslie Meggett, an employment counselor with the Westchester-Putnam One Stop Career Center, said, “This was our first year collecting clothing ourselves and it was so well received that we plan on doing it again.”

“We see first-hand on a daily basis the difference the Career Closet is making for the job candidates we prepare for interviews and ultimately employment,” said OJ Yizar, manager of the White Plains Career Center. “It has been extremely gratifying for the entire staff to have collected so many high-quality clothing items that will be put to such good use.”