Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also wish the Nambour show all the very best! Dress for Success is a registered charity that many in this place are familiar with. They play a vital role in my community by supporting women in the workforce by instilling confidence, building resilience and restoring dignity. Their work also aims to bridge the gap for vulnerable women by addressing unconscious bias and creating fairness and equality for female jobseekers. The not-for-profit also prides itself on sustainable clothing practices, where they style clients in preloved and end-of-the-line workwear, committing to the circular fashion economy and the ethical disposal of clothing that may otherwise end up in landfill.

I recently attended the annual Bubbles and Bargains event at the Fraternity Club in Fairy Meadow, hosted by the Dress for Success Illawarra branch. For one day only, the branch opened up a pop-up boutique to onsell luxury second-hand donations, recycling over 1,000 pieces of clothing. This year was another raging success with ticket prices and sales allowing Dress for Success to support an additional 107 women to face their job search with confidence, clothing and the tools to get hired. Led by Illawarra operations manager Bonnie Comber, the branch has approximately 20 volunteers that assisted on the day from set-up to packdown as well as being assisted by family, friends and five students from the Illawarra Grammar School. This year's sponsors were Skin Correctives, One Agency JD Property Agents, Blue Spinach, the Fraternity Club and blackMILK Candles.