Do You See that Woman Changing the World? She's a Poplin Client!

What woman? Where? Where?

Well, I dare say they are everywhere.

As part of my commitment to the styling sessions at YouthCare, I quickly realized that we'd need to bring in an incredible amount of new and used clothing to adequately supply styling sessions for the Barista Training Program graduates. After all, it is vital that each grad (young men and women ages 12-24 who are homeless or formerly homeless) have the chance to choose from pieces that fit and reflect his or her personal style.

The idea is to give them confidence at job interviews and at work. Few of us have a high level of confidence when we are sporting clothes we really don't like. I digress.

Pick Me UpsmelliciaApril 1, 2015Giving Back, Helping homeless youth, Seattle Personal Stylist, YouthCareComment

$40 to Spend at Nordstrom & I Get to Give Back?

I love this day! A friend recently asked me if I'd heard about Nordstrom's new partnership with Fashion Project. I hadn't. She proceeded to fill me in and between the two of us there were several repetitions of "it's so awesome," to follow.

Only a few days later, Nordstrom shared it with employees and I received several emails spreading the news. It's SO good that you, Dear Reader, need to know all about it. They say when you give, you get. Well, in this case, what you get is a shiny new $40 gift card from Nordstrom. Here's how.

Giving Back: YouthCare's Barista Training Program celebrates 10 years

About 10 years ago, a group of friends and I started volunteering to prepare meals for the kids at YouthCare, a local nonprofit that serves homeless youth. We would shop for the items, cook, then head over to the old site of the Orion Center and serve the food. Despite already having worked in nonprofits, it was a powerful experience. I was struck by two things:

melliciaOctober 1, 2013Community, fashion, Giving Back, Homeless Youth, men, Personal stylist, Seattle, Style, Volunteering, women, YouthCareComment

Giving Back: United Way's Community Resource Exchange

Every year, United Way of King County hosts the Community Resource Exchange (CRE) to offer a one stop shop for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. There have been 9 so far and because of my background in nonprofits, I've been fortunate to participate in 7. Over 1,400 people received services in one day at Seattle Center.

This year, I volunteered to do intake- in other words, I helped people in a very long line identify the services that would be helpful to them and gather data that would be useful to United Way for future funding. In short, I asked hundreds of people whether or not they were homeless, where they slept and heard their stories. It is a powerful day, for sure.