Program Helps Students Get Suited for the Job
Julie McHugh didn’t need to think twice when asked if she’d like a free shopping trip courtesy of Mervyn’s Community Closet.
An opportunity for a new outfit doesn’t come along too often for this 28-year-old mother of four. For McHugh, the timing couldn’t have been better.
After her shopping excursion aboard the department store’s converted 72-foot big-rig truck, McHugh was headed for her third--and, it turns out, final--interview for a position as a teacher at the child-care center at Amgen Inc. in Newbury Park.
“This is what I’m going to wear to my interview. It’s nice to know the community is out there and willing to help,” the Thousand Oaks resident said before stepping inside the bright yellow truck, which was stationed in a student parking lot at Moorpark College for two days last week.
Friday afternoon, McHugh found out she got the job.
Set up like a miniature store, the vehicle was fitted with racks of clothes, four dressing rooms and a lounging area. Several Mervyn’s associates were on hand to help with the selection of clothing and accessories.
McHugh was one of 68 people chosen to participate during the Moorpark College stop of the Community Closet program, which was created five years ago to assist people trying to move from public assistance to self-sufficiency through education and job training programs.
“Some of these folks have never had new clothes,” said Cynthia York, vice chair for the Ventura County Commission for Women and an employment career specialist with the East County Job and Career Center.
York helped bring the Mervyn’s tour to Ventura County. Along with the Moorpark College stop, the Community Closet visited Thousand Oaks last week and has trips planned to Ventura College April 23 and 24, and Oxnard College April 25 and 26.
Community Closet beneficiaries are from organizations such as CalWORKS, a welfare-to-work program that provides financial assistance to students. Other participating groups include the career centers of Ventura, Oxnard and Moorpark colleges, Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS), and Caregivers.
About 300 men and women will have been outfitted by the time the big rig rolls out of the county. The store on wheels will make 22 stops throughout California.
“For our Oxnard College participants, it’s a reward for completing and excelling in our vocational training,” said Lillian Manning, CalWORKS coordinator at the college. Women receive a jacket, skirt, dress pants, blouse, twin sweater set, scarf, belt, pantyhose, shoes and earrings; men get a blazer, dress and casual pants, dress shirt, polo shirt, tie, belt, socks and shoes. Each ensemble is worth $350 to $400.
“We didn’t know what to expect when we came out to help,” said Daron Oda, a volunteer from the Simi Valley Mervyn’s store. “To see some of these people walk in so timidly and then walk out bolstered with self-esteem is so great.”
To further ease the anxiety that goes with job interviews, the Moorpark College coordinators put together a briefcase filled with a gift certificate for a free haircut, notepads, pens, a daily planner and other items. Additionally, there was a cosmetics rep available to give the women free makeovers, while the men received free after-shave.
As Moorpark College student Ursula Johnson, 37, headed out with an armful of bags, she said she appreciated the help received from the EOPS program and the department store.
“This is so important, because not everyone who attends college is fortunate,” she said. “And you know what they say: ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression.’”