IWIRE (Industrial Women in Real Estate) successfully raised more than $12,000 on Oct. 15, when it held its fundraiser and clothing drive at Cafe la Cave in Rosemont to support Poised for Success.
The fundraiser, which had 50 in attendance, received donations of more than 600 clothing items and accessories for Poised for Success, a non-profit organization that provides women in the suburban Chicagoland area with interview and business-appropriate clothing for the job market at no expense.
This was IWIRE’s first Poised for Success fundraiser and the industrial committee members were thrilled with the results.
“iWire’s mission is to foster collaboration and education among our membership and we felt that organizing an event that furthered that mission while at the same time helping women join the workforce was a great fit,” Duke Realty’s Susan Bergdoll told Chicago Industrial Properties. “Poised’s attention to detail really struck a chord with our event committee.”
Bergdoll explained that once a client selects her outfits, the pieces are wrapped in tissue and slipped in to a donated Lord and Taylor shopping bag. This way, she walks out the door feeling like she really has just been shopping for “new” clothes with all the confidence and self-esteem that comes with those new purchases.
The donated clothing items had to be new, like new or gently used, as well as clean and ready to wear.
Raffle tickets were also sold to benefit the organization. A total of 16 themed gift baskets were raffled off during the event, including a highlighted raffle for skybox tickets to a Chicago Bulls game, courtesy of Liston and Tsantilis.
Event sponsors included: Duke Realty; JLL; CBRE; Northern Builders, Inc.; ML Realty Partners, Liston & Tsantilis; CREW Chicago; and Colliers International.
