The Salt Lake Community College chapter of the Utah Women in Higher Education Network (UWHEN) has organized a clothing drive to collect business attire. The drive began on Jan. 16, and clean clothing, shoes, ties and briefcases will be accepted until March 21.
Donation bins are located at five SLCC locations: Taylorsville Redwood Campus in the University Transfer Center; South City Campus near the Student Services desk; Jordan Campus in the Health Sciences Center; Miller Campus in the lobby of the Mill Entrepreneurship Center; and Westpointe Campus in the lobby of the Student Services Building.
Riley Basset, SLCC transfer coordinator and UWHEN event coordinator, is heading the clothing drive. She said she is excited to hold an event that feels less formal and involves more students.
“[It’s] a way for folks on campus to feel involved,” said Basset. “[While] still benefiting students and community members.”
As an organization, UWHEN focuses on women in higher education. According to the UWHEN webpage on SLCC’s website, the UWHEN mission is “to create an environment of collective empowerment for all women working in higher education at Salt Lake Community College and partnering institutions.”
At the end of the drive, donations will be brought to the Career Boutique at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus. Everything will be sorted there, and any items that don’t make the cut will most likely be donated to secondhand stores like Savers, Goodwill or Deseret Industries, according to Basset.
The Career Boutique is based at SLCC’s Career Services office. With the service, students, faculty and staff can receive free business attire for interviews and jobs. Students may visit and pick out a maximum of 10 items per semester, while anyone else who works in higher education may access the boutique and receive up to five items every six months.
Basset said she is hopeful that students will find clothing and accessories that “help [them] feel they fit in whatever professional setting that they’re going into.”
Beyond the ongoing drive, the Career Boutique also accepts donations year-round, so long as they are needed. Basset explained that, while there are no specific items that are considered most needed, donations must be clean and free of holes and stains.
The boutique’s policies also ask that donated clothing isn’t overly worn and is fairly “in style,” or made within the last seven years.
This story has been updated.
