A very special donation

Ready for Success is given clothing worth $185,000 recovered from shoplifting bust

Members of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office prepared to unload donated clothing at Ready for Success.
Photo: Susan Barksdale

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has helped make sure a very large donation got into the right hands after a recent shoplifting bust in the Twin Cities. In partnership with Macy’s, the Sheriff’s Office turned over $185,000 worth of women’s clothing to Ready for Success, a program of Episcopal Community Services (ECS). Most of the clothing is from American and European designers including Etro, Issey Miyake, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana, L.A.M.B., Hale Bob, Juicy Couture, Seven and True Religion.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 22, a huge van pulled into the parking lot at 1730 Clifton Place in Minneapolis, just between the ECS offices in the Episcopal Center and the Ready for Success West building. Using round clothing racks also donated by Macy’s, representatives of the Sheriff’s Office began unloading the clothing, to the delight of ECS staff and friends, Ready for Success volunteers, and other social workers.

Sheriff Rich Stanek spoke briefly to the group, standing with Sue Veazie, Program Manager for Ready for Success (called “my new friend” by the sheriff), and noting that this had been an opportunity to take a bad situation and turn it to the good. The people at Ready for Success certainly agreed!

"I would just like everyone to know how grateful we are at Ready for Success to be the recipients of such a wonderful donation, said Sue Veazie after the event. "This unusual gift will assist the women served by our program in so many ways. Our clients benefit whenever generous donors bring clothing and accessories to us, knowing what a difference it will make in the life of a low-income woman seeking employment."

Ready for Success, a program of Episcopal Community Services, provides low-income women with gently-used professional clothing, accessories and new personal care items suitable for job interviews and the workplace. Clients at Ready for Success are referred by local social service agencies, and are often experiencing a life transition. Click here to learn more.