Grace Institute: Moving Women Forward

Stacey Schultz with Dress with Grace participants

Over the past 117 years, Grace Institute has helped more than 100,000 New York City women gain the skills and techniques needed to be successful in the ever-changing job market. Critical components of Grace Institute's program are the continuous professional development workshops, and networking opportunities provided by Grace's corporate partners. Grace has been working alongside Citi for the past two years to support program participants in their career ambitions, and we are delighted to share highlights of our most recent collaboration – a successful Dress with Grace suit drive event, which took place on March 24^th at Citi's offices at 388 Greenwich Street in New York.

Citi's strong commitment to developing diverse female leaders and supporting women throughout their careers made working with Grace Institute a natural fit. Two years ago, we began participating in Dress with Grace, and since then we have been surprised and delighted by the outpouring of generosity and support from women at Citi.

When the opportunity arose to take the event to the next level by hosting an event at Citi offices, we both jumped at the prospect. In addition to gaining a professional look, which is critical to the interview process and beyond, holding the event at Citi offices gives Grace women the opportunity to network with professionals and see firsthand what it takes to be successful in the world of finance.

The event was more successful than we could have imagined! Approximately 40 women at Citi volunteered to act as personal shoppers for Grace participants, helping them find the perfect pieces to look and feel professional and confident on job interviews and in the workplace. Each one of the Grace participants walked away with not only a professional suit to wear on their upcoming interviews, but with the support and encouragement of the Citi community.

Looking to the future, the Grace Institute will be moving to a new space downtown, giving our growing organization additional space; more efficient classrooms with upgraded technology, and opportunities for new employer partnerships. We are looking forward to continuing to build our meaningful collaboration with Citi.

Collaborations between organizations such as Citi and Grace are important to the process of moving women forward, and into stable, empowering jobs and fulfilling careers; and because of organizations like Grace Institute that we at Citi can find an added layer of meaning and value within our workplace.