{"id":14611,"date":"2015-01-22T09:52:55","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T14:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=14611"},"modified":"2015-01-22T09:52:55","modified_gmt":"2015-01-22T14:52:55","slug":"wings-for-success-holds-ksq-grand-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=14611","title":{"rendered":"Wings for Success holds KSQ grand opening"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Outfitting\u2019 women with confidence & hope<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Kim Chiomento,<\/span><\/strong> Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

KENNETT – The unassuming Wings for Success office, situated quietly at 457 Birch Street, has an amazing story to tell.\u00a0 For disadvantaged women of Southern Chester County, it is a life-line; a place to regain confidence, find unwavering respect, and begin well guided steps toward professional success and financial self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>

One of the many stylish, work appropriate outfits available to Wings for Success clients.<\/p><\/div>\n

Founded in 1997, Wings for Success\u2019 mission is \u201cTo improve the employment opportunities of disadvantaged women by providing work-appropriate attire, wardrobe guidance, and life skills workshops.\u201d It is the only program of its kind in Chester County; and has helped more than 8,000 women move forward and overcome challenging personal circumstances including homelessness, domestic abuse and recovery from addiction. However, it’s likely\u00a0anyone who has had the opportunity to visit or volunteer at a \u201cWings\u2019\u201dlocation, and has experienced the transformations that occur within its walls\u00a0first-hand, would describe its mission as magic.<\/p>\n

Following the success of its Frazer location, Wings board members set out to find a conveniently\u00a0located and affordable property for the women of Southern Chester County. The challenges associated with a lack of public transportation to get from Southern Chester County to Frazer, combined with many clients not having the means to afford personal transportation, presented a major logistical obstacle for those who need Wings\u2019 services the most.\u00a0 After an extensive study, Kennett Square was deemed to be an ideal location; and the United Way of Southern Chester County stepped-up to provide key financial support to help secure the space for Wings newest location.<\/p>\n

\"Dansko<\/a>

Dansko’s donation of clogs\u00a0to Wings for Success (popular among medical professionals) is just one example of the community’s generous support.<\/p><\/div>\n

Many\u00a0of Wings’ clients are referred by partner agencies like Kennett Young Moms, La Communidad Hispana, Maternal & Child Health Consortium, Kennett-Area Community Service (KACS), and His Mission; while others are simply individuals who have\u00a0the courage to recognize they need help\u00a0and pick up the phone to make an appointment.<\/p>\n

Ingrid Lis, Wings\u2019 new Kennett Square Program Manager, is passionate about helping women and families in need explaining, \u201cSince our doors opened January 5th<\/sup>, we have already been able to assist eight clients and we are scheduling new appointments weekly.\u00a0 We expect to serve approximately 150 clients annually; and we are well on our way to doing so…it is just wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"wings\"<\/a>

Wings Executive Director, LeeAnn Riloff, guests Kris Smith & Megan Kampf (center), and board member, Charlene McGrady enjoy a moment at Wednesday’s grand opening celebration.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wings for Success coordinates more than 80 volunteers, who provide everything from ‘one on one’ free personal career \u201cshopping\u201d, to teaching interview techniques, and offering lessons on professional decorum and counseling on how to retain a job once employed.\u00a0 Ingrid, along with several members of the volunteer team, are bilingual and are ready to serve a diverse array of women.<\/p>\n

Upon entering the Wings for Success location, women are greeted with a bright and welcoming reception area, private dressing rooms, tastefully outfitted mannequins and clean, cheerful rooms full of beautiful accessories and high-quality clothing.\u00a0 The goal is to make clients want to enjoy their visit, feel most welcome and cared for.<\/p>\n

\"wings2\"<\/a>

(L to\u00a0R) Wings Kennett Program Director – Ingrid Lis, Board President – Mary Patt Knauss & Board Member – Charlene McGrady celebrate the Kennett grand opening.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wings\u2019 board President and long-time volunteer, Mary Pat Knauss, (a former Agilent Technologies Executive) says after her corporate retirement a friend posed a simple question to her, \u201cWhat do you miss most about not working anymore?\u201d \u00a0she responded, \u201cI miss professional mentoring and advocating for women.\u201d\u00a0 This simple question has lead to Knauss to volunteering with Wings since\u00a02007.\u00a0 Her role continues to grow and since then, she has provided countless hours of dedicated leadership, professional training, and has become\u00a0a dynamic, key community advocate for the Wings for Success mission.<\/p>\n

Fellow Wings board member, Charlene McGrady enthusiastically explains, \u201cOur clients are treated like royalty.<\/em>\u00a0 We love<\/em> to pamper these women, have a lot of fun while offering tips on dressing for success and work to create a very warm, non judgmental and loving environment.\u00a0 For some clients, this may be the very first time anyone has ever done so.\u201d<\/p>\n

No detail is spared when it comes to preparing these women for the work force and helping improve their self-esteem and confidence.\u00a0 Just one example is Wings recognizing the need for the basics like\u00a0providing properly fitting new bras, underwear and other support garments; each playing a big role in self esteem, how clothing fits and are the finishing touches of a polished, professional image.<\/p>\n

Wings for Success has received support from many large sponsors like the United Way and Dankso Shoe Company (a full list of support partners can be found on the Wings home page.)\u00a0 In addition, many individual community volunteers pitch-in as well, like the volunteers who make jewelry known as \u201cWings Bling,” to volunteers from Longwood Rotary and DuPont who hauled and unloaded many boxes of clothing and assembled countless clothing fixtures; to organizations such as The Republican Women of Chester County, who are currently organizing an accessory drive to restock Wings\u2019 inventory (to contribute contact me******<\/span>@*****<\/span>st.net<\/span><\/a>.) \u00a0Wings for Success tries to engage\u00a0the whole community and encourages them to become invested in their broad reaching mission.<\/p>\n

Because there are constantly new clients, community support is continually needed; a few immediately helpful items include: brand new bras (any size), major retailer gift cards (Walmart, Target, etc.) and new \u2018scrubs\u2019 for women entering medical professions.<\/p>\n

Information on some\u00a0incredible success stories (including before and after pictures), making financial contributions, and\u00a0how to donate professional clothing, shoes, bags, etc. or how\u00a0get involved, can all be found on\u00a0Wings for Success’ website: www.wingsforsuccess.org<\/a>. \u00a0Need some help?\u00a0\u00a0Don’t be afraid to reach out; please call Wings for Success at (610) 444-1446 (Kennett Square) or (610) 644-6323 (Frazer).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Outfitting\u2019 women with confidence & hope By Kim Chiomento, Staff Writer, The Times KENNETT – The unassuming Wings for Success office, situated quietly at 457 Birch Street, has an amazing story to tell.\u00a0 For disadvantaged women of Southern Chester County, it is a life-line; a place to regain confidence, find unwavering respect, and begin well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":14688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[1502,5498,16,5772,1426,5776,5773,5775,2314,5774],"class_list":["post-14611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-his-mission","tag-kennett-area-community-service","tag-kennett-square","tag-kennett-young-moms","tag-la-communidad-hispana","tag-life-skills-workshops","tag-maternal-child-health-consortium","tag-wardrobe-guidance","tag-wings-for-success","tag-work-appropriate-attire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14611"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14704,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14611\/revisions\/14704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}