Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

Gear Up needs clothing donations to help job seekers look good

The good news is that the Gear Up program of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is helping an average of 25 men a week who need nice clothing for job interviews or work. The bad news is that means it needs a lot more donations of good clothing to keep up with demand.

Gear Up is located at 13 Vieux Carre Drive in the Loisel Village area off Illinois 157 in East St. Louis. The office is between Catholic Urban Services and St. Vincent de Paul.

It provides interview-appropriate clothing, shoes and accessories at no cost to qualified applicants. A qualified applicant is someone who has been referred by a social services agency, a job services agency or some other public or private agency.

Gear Up has evolved over several years. It started as Career Gear with a woman who basically worked out of her car until she got a building on West Main Street in downtown Belleville, said Judith Phillips, associate director of foundations and corporations for the Diocese of Belleville.

It was taken over by Catholic Charities and located at the St. Henry's Catholic Church parish center before moving nearer other services in East St. Louis.

Volunteer Pat Hogrebe now runs the program. Phillips said Hogrebe is the driver behind its success.

"Before she took over, they were dressing a couple men per week," Phillips said.

Hogrebe said the secret is her remarkable group of volunteers who treat clients as if they were walking into a Dillard's or Macy's. Many of her volunteers are married couples who are assigned to an individual and make sure he gets special attention.

Gear Up is getting referrals from a lot of different agencies in the metro-east and St. Louis. The program also is starting to help people write resumes and develop interviewing skills.

"People keep getting poorer," Hogrebe said. "We're needy. We have to really keep on the donations. We have an especially hard time getting shoes."

Career Gear is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, from 9:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday and other times by appointment.

The agency needs new or gently used shoes, belts, ties, dress shirts, suits, sport coats and slacks. You can bring your donations to the St. Vincent office or you can call 398-5616 to arrange pickup or for more information.