March 31, 2022 • 37 mins
To close out Women’s History Month, Senator Turner chats all things inspiration with Dress for Success - Cleveland CEO, Melony Butler. From empowerment to entrepreneurship to self-actualization, these two examine what women really need to succeed – support, direction, and opportunity.
LINKS:
Dress for Success - Cleveland
https://cleveland.dressforsuccess.org/about-us/
Quotes:
Women are the real architects to society. – Cher
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/cher_126853
Service is the rent that we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. – Shirley Chisolm
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7088681-service-is-the-rent-we-pay-for-the-privilege-of
You have to act as if it is possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time. – Dr Angela Davis
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1115330-you-have-to-act-as-if-it-were-possible-to
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Next term every time. Welcome to Hello Somebody, a production
(00:27):
of The Black Effect Podcast Network and I Heart Media.
Where we rage against the machine, where we raise our
voices against injustice and stand up for justice. Where we
embrace hope and joy with an optimism for a bright
or more just future. Each week I'll be dropping knowledge,
(00:48):
whether it's a solo episode from me or a hearty
discussion with esteam guests doing great things in spaces and
places of politics, entertainment, social justice, and beyond. We get real, baby,
I mean really real. We get honest, We get up
close and personal for you, yes, you, because everybody is Somebody.
(01:16):
Before we begin, I want to give a special shout
out to my team, Thank you, Sam, Tiffany, Sam and
the team over at Good Juju Studios, Erica England, Pepper Chambers,
the Hot One, and my social media team. Well, I
guess we are at the end of March, but that
(01:38):
is not, and I mean is not, gonna keep us
from still highlighting and speaking about Women's History Month, because
women have history that they bring three But it is
a wonderful thing that in the month of March, we
as a nation recognized the contributions of women and we
are going to take this discussion all the way to
the end of the month. Hello somebody, and folks, we
(02:01):
do not have to stop talking about women's accomplishments just
because March is going away. Now we're gonna keep talking
about women are making history each and every day, each
and every year, breaking cycles, raising children, raising hell, starting businesses,
and in record numbers, We're going to school. We're just
doing the thing. That's what we do every single day,
(02:23):
and we do that in a patriarchal society. But I'll
leave that lecture for another day. We will talk about
this patriarchy that's poisoned the entire world. Now, women sometimes
do not get a day off or hell, they don't
even get a break. So we need to have programs
and efforts, and we need to continue to encourage women
(02:43):
to take several self care days. We must do that.
We must uplift women, we must support them. And that's
women from all backgrounds and speaking of women from all
backgrounds talking about the need to lift women and be
a resource of them. Today, you're not gonna want to
miss this. Hello, somebody, family, I have with me. Melanie Butler,
(03:07):
the executive director of Dress for Success, Cleveland. Dress for
Success is an organization that quote strives for a world
where all women are financially independent, are treated with dignity
and respect, and are directly impacting their lives and those
of their families. They aspire to a world that fully
(03:29):
harnesses the power of women and recognizes their role in
economic sustainability. In quote, Oh my god, director, I love
those words because I know that when people here Dress
for Success they only think the clothing that you provide,
But you provide so much more to women who need
(03:51):
to be reminded that they are more than worthy. Welcome, director,
thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for that introduction,
and because Dress for Success. You're right. The biggest myth
about Dress for Success is that we only are about
the clothing, and we're about fashion. The clothing is just
(04:13):
the tip of the iceberg, and the clothing really is
a tool to get women to see and start having
voice and choice in their lives. And that is the beginning.
And that's how, as they say, you break bread with
women to get them to have trust and understanding and
how what we have to offer them. And so when
(04:34):
women come here, sometimes women have not they don't see
themselves in the roles that they can be in, so
we show them that today it's a different picture because
you know, everybody's dressing so casually, but there still needs
different industry needs. There's medical scrubs, they are as foodst service,
there is manufactory and women need tools, they need boots,
(04:56):
they need skiproof shoes, all of those kind of things
that don't come in the average donation. So today our
message to the public is, yes, we still need you
to donate clothes, but we're asking you to tuck ten
and why tuck ten, Tuck ten in the pocket, tuck
tin in our box. Because women need bus passes, women
need food cards, women need gas cards. Those are the barriers.
(05:20):
Women need toiletries, those are the barriers to employment today.
And everybody is not wearing a suit. So if you're
getting rid of your suits because you're not wearing them
to work, guess what she isn't either. Because we want
to make women feel equal when they walk into their
new environments. We want women to feel equal and not
(05:42):
worry about, oh, I'm all dressed up and everybody else
is wearing just a casual slacks, you know, a pull
together look, but more casual. So you don't want to
send her with this like I'm the new girl on
the box and I have this suit on, and you
don't want to send her that right that way, right,
So we're asking people to think about still donating what
(06:02):
you would wear today, and that's been our message all along,
what you would wear today, not what you're discarding today
because you're no longer wear it. So in that respect's
a great point. That's a great point because you don't
want the women that you're helping to fill out of place.
They need to look at the part of the place,
of the environment that they are entering. And your point
(06:25):
about we dressed so much more casually than we did
twenty years I mean even five years ago. Not we
don't even have to go his way back, but there
was a time where we were ultra ultra conservative in
our business attire and that is not the case in
two right now. There's still some industries that still are
(06:47):
that ultra competitive, you know. So we want to be appropriate,
but we want a mixture and we want to work
provide support to women going into all professions. So when
you come to our boutique, we have jeans, we have khakis,
we have scrubs, all of those type of things as
well as that traditional garment that people think about us. No,
(07:08):
I love it. Your Chief Executive Officer for Dress for
Success CEO, let me correct that. And you have been
with Dress for Success for over twenty years? Is that right?
Am I reading that right? That is correct? I am
going into this is my twenty second year as an employee.
But my first inception and my first acquaintance with Dress
(07:31):
for Success was one of those women walking through the
doors as a woman receiving services in tell your story,
let's do. I think it's a great place to tell
the story. I'm thinking about a song in the Black Church,
two of them and how I got over? My soul
looks back and wonder's how I got over? Yes, So
(07:52):
Just for Success was my saving grace in nineteen ninety
nine when I was recovering, and I was it to
Dress for Success by the referring agency worka House, and
if anybody doesn't remember, worka House. They were the first
African American recovery facility for men and women, and it
(08:14):
started right over here on the outweigh, and that is
where I got my start in introduction to Dress for Success. Cleveland.
I said, I was humpy dumpty, and I had broken
into pieces and I was being put back together again
with sobriety. And at that time, I was a woman
that was forty something years old then. And so I
(08:36):
tell women today that if I could do that at
forty three, I think I was, you can do it
and you're much younger than I am. And the journey
is different for everybody, but diversity as adversity. And so
I came to Dress for Success in nine they were
premierrying their program Professional Women's Group, which is the ongoing
development programs that they have so Dressed for Success. Yes,
(08:59):
it helps you with the suit, but it also helps
you with that career development, helps you with that financial development,
It helps you with that work life balance and understanding
that and civic responsibility. We talk about voting, We talk
about making women aware of their community and how to
be contributors back to their community. So those are all
the things that were just being launched in nine Addressed
(09:23):
for Success Cleveland. So I had the privilege of being
one of fifty women in the pilot program for that
to see if it made a difference. And I just
gotta tell you it made a huge difference in my life.
Coming back into the order of things and trying to
be a productive citizen was my year first. I was
my first year getting married. It was my first year
(09:45):
becoming a mother, not a natural mother, but a mother
of focused children, and learning how to be that female
lead in a family household. All those are things that like,
I don't care when they're new to you. They're new
to you, right, And so having a support system and
having a group of other women that could talk about, girl,
(10:06):
you're gonna need to learn how to compromise, um. Girl,
you need to learn how it's like show them gets
some love. You know, it's not all about you, And
just things like that that you get from a support group.
Those are all the things that I got from Dressed
for Success, as well as financial replanning and repairing my
(10:26):
credit and owning a house. I remember I saved my
house down payment in a bag, a paper bag up
under my bed because when I came to Dress for Success,
I had no credit because I hadn't been participating in
that part of his life. That's normal, and so I
(10:46):
didn't exist on credit. And you can't buy the home
and you can't exist without credit. So it's re establishing
that second chance and finding those institutions that give you
that second chance. So dress for success, you provide wrap
around services. I mean the name does not say at all,
(11:10):
does not give the scope of what it does not
at all. Yeah, it provides a network of support, is
in our mission statement, and that's what it does. It
provides you and links you to individuals that can support
you in all walks of life to get you moving forward.
And then that financial and economic independence happens. But that
(11:31):
happens from our belief from a strategy of holistic development,
because if you only strengthen the career part of you,
you can excel. But what I tell women today is
that your aptitude is not your altitude, and you need
to find eventually something that marries both together and that
(11:53):
you want to get up and go to work and
do whatever it is you're doing because you are creative,
that you are happy in it, you find joy in it,
and if you don't, that is where I missed the
boat because I didn't find joy. So I filled that
gap with other things, and those other things eventually took
(12:14):
me out. So I'm saying that gap has to be
filled now. Sometimes we won't find it all in our employment.
That's where you have to dive back until giving back
to your community and volunteering and getting engaged in other
activities that build We are all here to do something
other than to be self absorbed. Yeah, I mean, you're
(12:34):
you're making me think of a quote by Congresswoman Shirley
Chisholm when she said services the rent that we pay, yes,
really for our time here on earth. And that's what
you're saying, and it's so beautiful. I mean, you are
a public servant. I don't know if anyone has ever
said that to you in that way. You're not elected
to any office, but you are on assignment. You are
(12:55):
a missionary. And what Dress for Success does is that
you minister to the needs of women as they come in,
whatever that unique need is, and sometimes it's crossover needs,
but you minister to the whole woman in her pursuit
for career and just life in general. And I really
think it's just a beautiful, beautiful thing. I have participated
(13:18):
in some of the Dress for Success activities many many
many years ago, and so it's really good to connect
with you and to talk about what Dress for Success
looks like right now, if someone wanted to be supportive
of the agency and the work that you do. Just
for Success is a national organization, you need Dress for
(13:40):
Success Cleveland. Dress for Success is actually in twenty two countries,
so international organ We're a global organization. We just got
a new global CEO, Michelle Meyership, so she just started
February sixteen. But we're in twenty two countries. We have
about a hundred forty five of the we it's among
(14:00):
those twenty two countries. So it is a beautiful thing, yes,
and when we all come together, it is power beyond measure.
As they say, it's just a beautiful thing to see
the same woman in Portugal or in New Zealand Australia.
That is about the same thing we're doing here, building
(14:21):
confidence so that you become aware of your power. And
why is that important, Madam CEO? I mean, why is
that important? Because some people would say these are grown women.
I mean, why do we need an organization and entity
to exist to help women build confidence? Shouldn't that be
something that they can get from their family or get
(14:43):
from their community environment. Why do we need organizations like
Dress for Success? We need organizations about Just for Success.
That builds confidence because everybody does not have that in
their family support. Everybody does not have that in the
immediate community that they live in, and everybody does not
know how to find those systems. Everybody is not a
(15:04):
college graduate, so everybody does not have a mentor or
a sponsor, or an advocate and all of those things
that it takes to realize your potential. So organizations like
Just for Success and some of our other community resources
are absolutely essential in making people confident and making people
(15:25):
aware of what's out here for them, you know that
going back to school is a possibility, and also making
sure that people see the reality of all of us
that are doing this, that we haven't always been where
we are every moment of our lives, and that we
too they can identify. So it's like saying I see you,
(15:46):
I've been you, I am you, and that that gives
hope to people. People need hope, and they need examples,
and they need them to be transparent and honest with them,
and so that is organizations are still needed. Yeah, I mean, hope,
it's definitely a motivator. I say that all the time.
Hope is an action word and as a species. If
(16:08):
we ever lose hope, all is lost, because that's that
means we give up. So hope motivates us to keep
on pressing even when the odds seem insurmountable. That hope
will tell you gotta keep pushing. So, Madam CEO, you've
been at this organization for twenty two years. You came
as a client, now you lead Just for Success Cleveland.
(16:30):
Share with us some of the things that you've seen
change over time and some of the things that remain
the same in terms of so for example, we talked
about the types of clothing and the other necessities that
Dress for Success help women with. It is not just
the clothes on their body. It may be boots, it
(16:51):
may be other supplies that they need to do the job.
So that has changed over time. What other things have
changed over time and what things have remained the same.
Some other things that have changed over time is the
group of women that we serve. For the talkert audience
has expanded, Dress for Success is for all women. Dress
(17:13):
for Success is for women that are forty five enough.
It is not just for eighteen to twenty five. I've
seen one of the things that I was asked recently
is do I see a need for Dress for Success
even more after COVID. I see a need for Dress
for Success more after COVID because we've been set back
about three decades of progress of women finding their presence
(17:36):
in the workplace and in the workforce. But I also
see a challenge with the newer, the younger women knowing
about Dressed for Success and what it takes the brand
awareness that it takes a small nonprofit like ours to
get the name out and continually educate about, like you said,
the scope of services that we offer that we're here,
(17:59):
We're we're still here. A couple of women came in
the office recently and I said, how do you find
out about and it was they were all my mother
in law or somebody older in their family. We are
twenty four years old in Cleveland, so think about it.
A year old, it's not gonna know about us. We
were born when she was too, so, you know. So
(18:22):
it's things like that. Those are things I see changing.
I see more women over fifty coming back into the
workforce and starting that second career or retirement. Isn't retirement
in the same since it was in my parents day,
you know, it is finding a second life. Maybe you've
done your thirty years and now, but you're not. We're
(18:42):
living longer, we're staying healthier, We're not just sitting back
and doing the you know, gardening. We are coming back
into the workforce. Social security is not enough for most
of us to thrive and live on. So those are
the kinds of just that I've seen. I've also seen
(19:02):
career changes, career paths changing, technology, manufacturing becoming more career
oriented for women than it used to be. When I
first came, it was basically that's why the suits were
so popular, because we were going into administrative office is
still and doing that kind of employment. That's not the
(19:23):
only thing that's thriving for women today. So you have
some hard headed women, you have metical you know, because
most of the women of the women we serve, our
single head of household with two to three children, they
need employment that's sustainable. And I'm glad to see that
(19:47):
McDonald's and some of the fast food places that are
basically sometimes taxi jobs for individuals, but that they're lifting
their pay wages because that is inconceivable that twelve dollars
an hour, it's gonna sustain a single woman, get a
household two to three children, and then I see that
the other problem is that you know, the more she makes,
(20:09):
the less she gets as far as government support. So
those things daycare, the cost of daycare is keeping women
out of employment. Let's rest right there, because you know,
as an industrialized nation, we do not provide the same
type of services to our citizens that other industrialized nations provide.
(20:32):
Universal health care for example, not only would that help
all people, all people in this country would benefit from
Medicare for all. Then if we start to pare down
and get into the especially section, women especially would benefit
from Medicare for all from universal healthcare because part of
(20:53):
making that woman have wrapped around and holistic is that
health component. You know, Am I healthy? Do I get
my wellness checks? This? You know, some doctors call our
system sick care, and I do agree with them. We
have a system that deals with you once you are sick,
and then they cover up. The medicines don't necessarily heal you.
They just camouflage versus pushing our populations to get those
(21:17):
wellness checks. Get get into the doctor before you actually
get sick. Let's monitor your health for your entire life.
Because you can't do anything else. And Madam CEO, when
you talk about you said over sixty was it sixty
head of households? If that woman does not have a
viable career and or employment, then that impacts her children.
(21:41):
And sometimes women are sandwiched in between parents and children.
And the way the economy is going right now, a
lot of families who had it going on, so to speak,
don't have it going on anymore, because inflation is eating
every little dollar that they have. Absolutely, it's sometimes there is.
(22:03):
That's why you know our needs and you'll see on
our website our intake needs or donation needs includes bus passes,
gas cards because you have people interviewing virtually to get employment,
but then they can't get to the job that they
just got because they haven't been working. Those aren't things,
or they have to pay somebody else, because even someone
(22:26):
helping you and your family, everybody needs to resources, right,
So those are things that I just think that we
forget are part of the picture and closing right now.
It's important, but it's not the greatest need. It's just
one part. And even the child tax credit, I mean,
at least as of this interview, the child tax credit
(22:47):
has expired. It was something that helps families with children.
I believe in this country we need to make it permanent.
And as we were discussing just a few minutes ago,
the astronomical loss of child care, you're right, some of families,
whether there is just the woman is the head of
the household, or there's a couple, they can't afford for
(23:09):
both to work because childcare costs more than what they
would bring in, and so it forces them to stay
home or forces I mean, it's such a burden and
a barrier. It's a barrier two people being able to
actualize themselves. And it does not have to be that way.
In the wealthiest country on the face of the earth.
We are hedge of my nation, and we can afford
(23:31):
number one, to pay childcare workers much more than they
make right now, and to provide subsidies for that childcare,
so it doesn't eat up not every dollar, but more
than half of the money that people may be making,
dependent on how much they make. And the minimum wage
is seven five So if we just stick with seven
(23:53):
now in Ohio, our minimum wage goes up with inflation,
so we're at about eight dollars and eighty cents, but
even that's not enough. And as we talk about raising
the wage to a living wage, it turns out that
fifteen dollars is a starting point. It's not even the
ending point. It's not it's a starting point exactly. And
the other thing is that women are not equally paid
(24:14):
as men are paid in the same job. So then
that's another issue on top of that. So it's combined
with you know, as they said when COVID hit, that's
when a lot of women went to the sidelines of
the workforce because they were the ones that absorbed the
social changes that we experience, like homeschooling and the daycare issue.
(24:37):
And they are the ones who had to absorb that.
And when it comes to even married households, if you're
picking one or the other to not work. That is
why we also engage in talking about entrepreneurial type of
employment and teaching women not it's not just about that.
(24:58):
That's not the only aspiration there is. Be creative and
finding that employment opportunity, I mean nine the five is
so rare, and so many people have to piece together
two and three jobs just to make ends meet. And
the whole notion of just even the having the working
poor in the United States of America. That just doesn't
(25:19):
even make sense to me. A lot of people who
are homeless, as we know, work people are working, and
they still there on the grind, they're on the ground.
And for me, Madam CEO, that's no way to live
that if your whole life is constantly on the grind,
on the ground, and you never get a chance to
take a vacation, even if it's you know, down the street,
(25:40):
up the way, around the corner. Just change your surroundings
so that you can be edified in your living. And
it just the way that we devalue the poor, the
working poor, in the barely middle class in this country.
It burns my ass. I'm gonna just be honest with
it burns my behind greatly. I understand that what has
(26:04):
come to light and one of the other pillars that
we stand on five pillars. But health alone is is
one of the our pillars of purpose, we call it.
But if without your health, you can't do anything. And
that's not just physical health, is mental health, is financial health,
it's social health, you know, it's all of those things
that make us whole and vibrant. We were intended to
(26:27):
live holistic, not just live to work. That's exactly right.
So we want women to understand that they have choices
and that there's different combinations of things they can do,
and that's what we're here to do. We're not here
to say anyone given path is successful. We're here to
let you know that self defining success for yourself is perfectly,
(26:52):
perfectly fine, and that's what you should be doing. You
should find what makes you work and stop comparing yourself
to everybody else. I said, you are unique. Unique is
one our fingerprints exactly. We were designed, uniquely made for
a reason. And that and and having confidence in that.
(27:13):
It's hard because we have all these voices that we
listened to and all these voices that come in, and
sometimes we are not encouraged to be who we are
from day one. Tell me about it, from school, from
different walks of life. You know, I was encouraged to
be I was told I was quiet, I was not
(27:34):
a people person. I was a numbers person. And even
though the numbers part is true, but I went all
the way around the world I feel like to find
who I am and I came back and being in
the role I'm in today, do I deal with numbers. Yes,
but I'm more than just a bookkeeper, which is what
I started off to be because I was listening to
(27:56):
clergy my parents. Who can define a person at thirteen?
Even at seventeen you can't. So having that process of
self discovery is really important for everyone. And then coming
to your own self realization and exploration is very important
so that you can self actualize and self actualized is
(28:18):
gonna be different for everybody. And be okay with that
that said, I said, And you look, you're kicking the
knowledge Maslow's hierarchy of needs, baby. And once you get
to self actualization, you have done something. But in order
to get there, you gotta deal with the base of
the pyramid, and that is your physiological needs. You can't
self actualize until you deal with all the other things
(28:40):
that will get you there. I love how you said,
be okay with who you are. You know, we always
have a quote moment on hello somebody, So I'm filling
a couple of them. One is from the Amazing Share.
Women are the real architects of society, is what she said.
CEO Butler, do you agree with what she said on that? Lutely?
(29:00):
We influence everything and our decision making this different than men,
and we need to honor that because it brings a
lot to the table we have. You know, we're not
as black and white. We are colorful, we are vibrant,
We think differently, and instead of denying that, walk in it.
Walk in it and be confident that it brings a difference. Um.
(29:23):
And I think that one of the things that it's
missing from women's empowerment is men. Be honest. Men that
we are needed. You know, recognize us for the value
that we bring. And we're not trying to knock you out.
We're just trying to exist with you. Because did he
not make Adam and Eve? You know, so you know,
bring know that we are. We have a place here
(29:44):
and we compliment you im in more than one place. Yeah,
I love that. Be honest, men recognize, you know, and
some men do recognize that, and they do you honor us.
But unfortunately, the male dominated patriarchal society, the way that
(30:07):
we are socialized in this country, even still to this
day in many other countries, is from a male dominated perspective,
and it does not leave room for a collective or
collaborative perspective about life that we do need each other absolutely,
So that is beautiful what you just said. And then
my last hello somebody quote moment for today is it
(30:32):
comes from the amazing doctor Angela Davis, and she said
the following. You have to act as if it were
possible to radically transform the world, and you have to
do it all the time, you know, Ceo Butler, that's
what I think you're doing. Address for success. You are
comporting yourself as if it is possible to radically change
(30:55):
the world, and you are doing it on a regular basis.
I hope I'm doing it one woman at a time.
But I really think it's our community. And one of
the things that we have going on talking about celebrating
women that are walking in those male dominated fields. The
month of March, that is one of our that's our
biggest months, is celebrating women's history months International Women's Day.
(31:19):
We have a campaign called Your Hour, Her Power, and
every the last three years we are honored women who
are walking in those and breaking those ceiling glass doors.
And so that campaign is going on right now. But
the campaign itself is inclusive of all the community, and
we asked that everybody in the community donate one hour
(31:42):
of your pay to make a difference, no matter what
if you're making twelve dollars an hour or you're making
forty two dollars an hour, donate one hour of your
pay and one of the honorees. And this year we
have a payer that we're honoring Maurice Pernell and Mail
Tree Sharp because that is a man who is equally
(32:02):
recognizing a woman as his partner and he's doing his
thing and she's doing hers. And so we had to
bring the mail perspective into our campaign this year to
say that that's what is needed. We need more of that.
I know our campaign is coming to an end, but
our website has everything on there. But this is a
(32:23):
campaign that really helps us to do those things that
we're talking about and buy those gaps and fill those
gaps that we don't get in donations and dress for success.
Really really, even in after our post COVID, we're still
servicing about women a year and those women deserve your
(32:44):
support and the holistic way. And I couldn't think of
a better couple to be honored Larisa Moultres. They are incredible,
incredible givers to this community, pushing and uplifting black businesses
and particular killer. They are extraordinaries. I am so glad
to hear that they are. They are two of six
(33:05):
ounrees that we're highlighting. But um Linda Smith from Parker
Hannafan in the manufacturing world, Carry Carpenter in at Huntington Bank,
Thma Zabala from the nonprofit world, and also one of
your colleagues, Jenny Boyd, because of the law she passes
(33:25):
and the what she's trying to do stay representative Boyd. Right,
So those I mean, we're honoring people who are doing
things that empower women and making a difference and we
all can play a role in that. In Madame CEO,
where's your website? How can people find you? Our website
is very simple, Cleveland dot Dressed for success dot org.
(33:48):
Here it is, yes, Cleveland dot Dressed for success. With
that arg and our website is now the hub of
how to get connected. Whether you want to volunteer. We
are a volunteer based the organization where a staff of
three individuals. Everyone else is a volunteer. So how to
get connected is there. Whether we have a wish to
(34:09):
build our board right now, so if you want to
be a board member, that is on our website. If
you want to give clothing or donate plus tests, that
is on our website. If you're a woman and you
need something and services from just for success, you don't
need agencies to refer to today, you can self refer
so all of those connections are on our website. Well,
(34:31):
thank you so very much for all that you do,
and you definitely personifies what is possible. I think coming
in starting as a client and now you run in
the place, nobody can come in there with an excuse
when they talk to you, because you you let them know, Hey,
it can be done because I did it. So again,
the wonderful, magnificent Share women are the real architects of
(34:53):
society and Dr Angela Davis, you have to act as
if it were possible to radically transform the world world,
and you have to do it all the time. CEO Butler,
thank you so much for the gift that you are,
for the work that you do for a magnificent organization.
I want to shout out all of the volunteers because
I know that it takes teamwork to make the dream work.
(35:15):
So to you, your staff, the volunteers all over the
world Baby who are helping women in a very holistic way.
That is a ministry. We salute you. Dress for success,
y'all sign up. There's something for everybody to do. Go
to Cleveland dot dress for success dot org dot org. Baby,
(35:38):
y'all do that. Hello somebody, because everybody is somebody Mary,
Mary things. Somebody's giving us. Tell us somebody that time
(36:04):
times we hid. Yeah, change is coming. The pain is
nothing trying to shoot for the stars. If you're gonna
aim for something, to embrace the love for your brother
and sister, you need these the mission brush. We need
to puzzle this. Pictures painted up, frame it up for
the world to see. Hain't to hatred up. Enough is enough,
it's enough, making changes enough. In turn of a voice
(36:26):
of the truth to wise words inspire the youth to
keep their eyes on the roof. It's the end. Never
give up, keep conquering goals to the eye. Intelligence, silver,
wisdom is gold. Back to the end. Now is your time,
Stay firm, don't fold to the a or you need
is the three bombs. That's what Randie said. Now I'm
gonna make sure these words from Rannie Sprage for all
the hair to give it your air. She can take
(36:47):
him to the promised Land I swear world pieces what
they Fear. From Queen's to Cleveland, Ohio, were here famous
famous turning Tell Somebody needn't turn up, spanning Somebody turn on,
(37:08):
Tell somebody need turn on times one of those more
(37:28):
Hello Somebody is a production of I Heart Radio and
the Black Effect Network. For more podcast from our heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Next term every time. Welcome to Hello Somebody, a production
(00:27):
of The Black Effect Podcast Network and I Heart Media.
Where we rage against the machine, where we raise our
voices against injustice and stand up for justice. Where we
embrace hope and joy with an optimism for a bright
or more just future. Each week I'll be dropping knowledge,
(00:48):
whether it's a solo episode from me or a hearty
discussion with esteam guests doing great things in spaces and
places of politics, entertainment, social justice, and beyond. We get real, baby,
I mean really real. We get honest, We get up
close and personal for you, yes, you, because everybody is Somebody.
(01:16):
Before we begin, I want to give a special shout
out to my team, Thank you, Sam, Tiffany, Sam and
the team over at Good Juju Studios, Erica England, Pepper Chambers,
the Hot One, and my social media team. Well, I
guess we are at the end of March, but that
(01:38):
is not, and I mean is not, gonna keep us
from still highlighting and speaking about Women's History Month, because
women have history that they bring three But it is
a wonderful thing that in the month of March, we
as a nation recognized the contributions of women and we
are going to take this discussion all the way to
the end of the month. Hello somebody, and folks, we
(02:01):
do not have to stop talking about women's accomplishments just
because March is going away. Now we're gonna keep talking
about women are making history each and every day, each
and every year, breaking cycles, raising children, raising hell, starting businesses,
and in record numbers, We're going to school. We're just
doing the thing. That's what we do every single day,
(02:23):
and we do that in a patriarchal society. But I'll
leave that lecture for another day. We will talk about
this patriarchy that's poisoned the entire world. Now, women sometimes
do not get a day off or hell, they don't
even get a break. So we need to have programs
and efforts, and we need to continue to encourage women
(02:43):
to take several self care days. We must do that.
We must uplift women, we must support them. And that's
women from all backgrounds and speaking of women from all
backgrounds talking about the need to lift women and be
a resource of them. Today, you're not gonna want to
miss this. Hello, somebody, family, I have with me. Melanie Butler,
(03:07):
the executive director of Dress for Success, Cleveland. Dress for
Success is an organization that quote strives for a world
where all women are financially independent, are treated with dignity
and respect, and are directly impacting their lives and those
of their families. They aspire to a world that fully
(03:29):
harnesses the power of women and recognizes their role in
economic sustainability. In quote, Oh my god, director, I love
those words because I know that when people here Dress
for Success they only think the clothing that you provide,
But you provide so much more to women who need
(03:51):
to be reminded that they are more than worthy. Welcome, director,
thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for that introduction,
and because Dress for Success. You're right. The biggest myth
about Dress for Success is that we only are about
the clothing, and we're about fashion. The clothing is just
(04:13):
the tip of the iceberg, and the clothing really is
a tool to get women to see and start having
voice and choice in their lives. And that is the beginning.
And that's how, as they say, you break bread with
women to get them to have trust and understanding and
how what we have to offer them. And so when
(04:34):
women come here, sometimes women have not they don't see
themselves in the roles that they can be in, so
we show them that today it's a different picture because
you know, everybody's dressing so casually, but there still needs
different industry needs. There's medical scrubs, they are as foodst service,
there is manufactory and women need tools, they need boots,
(04:56):
they need skiproof shoes, all of those kind of things
that don't come in the average donation. So today our
message to the public is, yes, we still need you
to donate clothes, but we're asking you to tuck ten
and why tuck ten, Tuck ten in the pocket, tuck
tin in our box. Because women need bus passes, women
need food cards, women need gas cards. Those are the barriers.
(05:20):
Women need toiletries, those are the barriers to employment today.
And everybody is not wearing a suit. So if you're
getting rid of your suits because you're not wearing them
to work, guess what she isn't either. Because we want
to make women feel equal when they walk into their
new environments. We want women to feel equal and not
(05:42):
worry about, oh, I'm all dressed up and everybody else
is wearing just a casual slacks, you know, a pull
together look, but more casual. So you don't want to
send her with this like I'm the new girl on
the box and I have this suit on, and you
don't want to send her that right that way, right,
So we're asking people to think about still donating what
(06:02):
you would wear today, and that's been our message all along,
what you would wear today, not what you're discarding today
because you're no longer wear it. So in that respect's
a great point. That's a great point because you don't
want the women that you're helping to fill out of place.
They need to look at the part of the place,
of the environment that they are entering. And your point
(06:25):
about we dressed so much more casually than we did
twenty years I mean even five years ago. Not we
don't even have to go his way back, but there
was a time where we were ultra ultra conservative in
our business attire and that is not the case in
two right now. There's still some industries that still are
(06:47):
that ultra competitive, you know. So we want to be appropriate,
but we want a mixture and we want to work
provide support to women going into all professions. So when
you come to our boutique, we have jeans, we have khakis,
we have scrubs, all of those type of things as
well as that traditional garment that people think about us. No,
(07:08):
I love it. Your Chief Executive Officer for Dress for
Success CEO, let me correct that. And you have been
with Dress for Success for over twenty years? Is that right?
Am I reading that right? That is correct? I am
going into this is my twenty second year as an employee.
But my first inception and my first acquaintance with Dress
(07:31):
for Success was one of those women walking through the
doors as a woman receiving services in tell your story,
let's do. I think it's a great place to tell
the story. I'm thinking about a song in the Black Church,
two of them and how I got over? My soul
looks back and wonder's how I got over? Yes, So
(07:52):
Just for Success was my saving grace in nineteen ninety
nine when I was recovering, and I was it to
Dress for Success by the referring agency worka House, and
if anybody doesn't remember, worka House. They were the first
African American recovery facility for men and women, and it
(08:14):
started right over here on the outweigh, and that is
where I got my start in introduction to Dress for Success. Cleveland.
I said, I was humpy dumpty, and I had broken
into pieces and I was being put back together again
with sobriety. And at that time, I was a woman
that was forty something years old then. And so I
(08:36):
tell women today that if I could do that at
forty three, I think I was, you can do it
and you're much younger than I am. And the journey
is different for everybody, but diversity as adversity. And so
I came to Dress for Success in nine they were
premierrying their program Professional Women's Group, which is the ongoing
development programs that they have so Dressed for Success. Yes,
(08:59):
it helps you with the suit, but it also helps
you with that career development, helps you with that financial development,
It helps you with that work life balance and understanding
that and civic responsibility. We talk about voting, We talk
about making women aware of their community and how to
be contributors back to their community. So those are all
the things that were just being launched in nine Addressed
(09:23):
for Success Cleveland. So I had the privilege of being
one of fifty women in the pilot program for that
to see if it made a difference. And I just
gotta tell you it made a huge difference in my life.
Coming back into the order of things and trying to
be a productive citizen was my year first. I was
my first year getting married. It was my first year
(09:45):
becoming a mother, not a natural mother, but a mother
of focused children, and learning how to be that female
lead in a family household. All those are things that like,
I don't care when they're new to you. They're new
to you, right, And so having a support system and
having a group of other women that could talk about, girl,
(10:06):
you're gonna need to learn how to compromise, um. Girl,
you need to learn how it's like show them gets
some love. You know, it's not all about you, And
just things like that that you get from a support group.
Those are all the things that I got from Dressed
for Success, as well as financial replanning and repairing my
(10:26):
credit and owning a house. I remember I saved my
house down payment in a bag, a paper bag up
under my bed because when I came to Dress for Success,
I had no credit because I hadn't been participating in
that part of his life. That's normal, and so I
(10:46):
didn't exist on credit. And you can't buy the home
and you can't exist without credit. So it's re establishing
that second chance and finding those institutions that give you
that second chance. So dress for success, you provide wrap
around services. I mean the name does not say at all,
(11:10):
does not give the scope of what it does not
at all. Yeah, it provides a network of support, is
in our mission statement, and that's what it does. It
provides you and links you to individuals that can support
you in all walks of life to get you moving forward.
And then that financial and economic independence happens. But that
(11:31):
happens from our belief from a strategy of holistic development,
because if you only strengthen the career part of you,
you can excel. But what I tell women today is
that your aptitude is not your altitude, and you need
to find eventually something that marries both together and that
(11:53):
you want to get up and go to work and
do whatever it is you're doing because you are creative,
that you are happy in it, you find joy in it,
and if you don't, that is where I missed the
boat because I didn't find joy. So I filled that
gap with other things, and those other things eventually took
(12:14):
me out. So I'm saying that gap has to be
filled now. Sometimes we won't find it all in our employment.
That's where you have to dive back until giving back
to your community and volunteering and getting engaged in other
activities that build We are all here to do something
other than to be self absorbed. Yeah, I mean, you're
(12:34):
you're making me think of a quote by Congresswoman Shirley
Chisholm when she said services the rent that we pay, yes,
really for our time here on earth. And that's what
you're saying, and it's so beautiful. I mean, you are
a public servant. I don't know if anyone has ever
said that to you in that way. You're not elected
to any office, but you are on assignment. You are
(12:55):
a missionary. And what Dress for Success does is that
you minister to the needs of women as they come in,
whatever that unique need is, and sometimes it's crossover needs,
but you minister to the whole woman in her pursuit
for career and just life in general. And I really
think it's just a beautiful, beautiful thing. I have participated
(13:18):
in some of the Dress for Success activities many many
many years ago, and so it's really good to connect
with you and to talk about what Dress for Success
looks like right now, if someone wanted to be supportive
of the agency and the work that you do. Just
for Success is a national organization, you need Dress for
(13:40):
Success Cleveland. Dress for Success is actually in twenty two countries,
so international organ We're a global organization. We just got
a new global CEO, Michelle Meyership, so she just started
February sixteen. But we're in twenty two countries. We have
about a hundred forty five of the we it's among
(14:00):
those twenty two countries. So it is a beautiful thing, yes,
and when we all come together, it is power beyond measure.
As they say, it's just a beautiful thing to see
the same woman in Portugal or in New Zealand Australia.
That is about the same thing we're doing here, building
(14:21):
confidence so that you become aware of your power. And
why is that important, Madam CEO? I mean, why is
that important? Because some people would say these are grown women.
I mean, why do we need an organization and entity
to exist to help women build confidence? Shouldn't that be
something that they can get from their family or get
(14:43):
from their community environment. Why do we need organizations like
Dress for Success? We need organizations about Just for Success.
That builds confidence because everybody does not have that in
their family support. Everybody does not have that in the
immediate community that they live in, and everybody does not
know how to find those systems. Everybody is not a
(15:04):
college graduate, so everybody does not have a mentor or
a sponsor, or an advocate and all of those things
that it takes to realize your potential. So organizations like
Just for Success and some of our other community resources
are absolutely essential in making people confident and making people
(15:25):
aware of what's out here for them, you know that
going back to school is a possibility, and also making
sure that people see the reality of all of us
that are doing this, that we haven't always been where
we are every moment of our lives, and that we
too they can identify. So it's like saying I see you,
(15:46):
I've been you, I am you, and that that gives
hope to people. People need hope, and they need examples,
and they need them to be transparent and honest with them,
and so that is organizations are still needed. Yeah, I mean, hope,
it's definitely a motivator. I say that all the time.
Hope is an action word and as a species. If
(16:08):
we ever lose hope, all is lost, because that's that
means we give up. So hope motivates us to keep
on pressing even when the odds seem insurmountable. That hope
will tell you gotta keep pushing. So, Madam CEO, you've
been at this organization for twenty two years. You came
as a client, now you lead Just for Success Cleveland.
(16:30):
Share with us some of the things that you've seen
change over time and some of the things that remain
the same in terms of so for example, we talked
about the types of clothing and the other necessities that
Dress for Success help women with. It is not just
the clothes on their body. It may be boots, it
(16:51):
may be other supplies that they need to do the job.
So that has changed over time. What other things have
changed over time and what things have remained the same.
Some other things that have changed over time is the
group of women that we serve. For the talkert audience
has expanded, Dress for Success is for all women. Dress
(17:13):
for Success is for women that are forty five enough.
It is not just for eighteen to twenty five. I've
seen one of the things that I was asked recently
is do I see a need for Dress for Success
even more after COVID. I see a need for Dress
for Success more after COVID because we've been set back
about three decades of progress of women finding their presence
(17:36):
in the workplace and in the workforce. But I also
see a challenge with the newer, the younger women knowing
about Dressed for Success and what it takes the brand
awareness that it takes a small nonprofit like ours to
get the name out and continually educate about, like you said,
the scope of services that we offer that we're here,
(17:59):
We're we're still here. A couple of women came in
the office recently and I said, how do you find
out about and it was they were all my mother
in law or somebody older in their family. We are
twenty four years old in Cleveland, so think about it.
A year old, it's not gonna know about us. We
were born when she was too, so, you know. So
(18:22):
it's things like that. Those are things I see changing.
I see more women over fifty coming back into the
workforce and starting that second career or retirement. Isn't retirement
in the same since it was in my parents day,
you know, it is finding a second life. Maybe you've
done your thirty years and now, but you're not. We're
(18:42):
living longer, we're staying healthier, We're not just sitting back
and doing the you know, gardening. We are coming back
into the workforce. Social security is not enough for most
of us to thrive and live on. So those are
the kinds of just that I've seen. I've also seen
(19:02):
career changes, career paths changing, technology, manufacturing becoming more career
oriented for women than it used to be. When I
first came, it was basically that's why the suits were
so popular, because we were going into administrative office is
still and doing that kind of employment. That's not the
(19:23):
only thing that's thriving for women today. So you have
some hard headed women, you have metical you know, because
most of the women of the women we serve, our
single head of household with two to three children, they
need employment that's sustainable. And I'm glad to see that
(19:47):
McDonald's and some of the fast food places that are
basically sometimes taxi jobs for individuals, but that they're lifting
their pay wages because that is inconceivable that twelve dollars
an hour, it's gonna sustain a single woman, get a
household two to three children, and then I see that
the other problem is that you know, the more she makes,
(20:09):
the less she gets as far as government support. So
those things daycare, the cost of daycare is keeping women
out of employment. Let's rest right there, because you know,
as an industrialized nation, we do not provide the same
type of services to our citizens that other industrialized nations provide.
(20:32):
Universal health care for example, not only would that help
all people, all people in this country would benefit from
Medicare for all. Then if we start to pare down
and get into the especially section, women especially would benefit
from Medicare for all from universal healthcare because part of
(20:53):
making that woman have wrapped around and holistic is that
health component. You know, Am I healthy? Do I get
my wellness checks? This? You know, some doctors call our
system sick care, and I do agree with them. We
have a system that deals with you once you are sick,
and then they cover up. The medicines don't necessarily heal you.
They just camouflage versus pushing our populations to get those
(21:17):
wellness checks. Get get into the doctor before you actually
get sick. Let's monitor your health for your entire life.
Because you can't do anything else. And Madam CEO, when
you talk about you said over sixty was it sixty
head of households? If that woman does not have a
viable career and or employment, then that impacts her children.
(21:41):
And sometimes women are sandwiched in between parents and children.
And the way the economy is going right now, a
lot of families who had it going on, so to speak,
don't have it going on anymore, because inflation is eating
every little dollar that they have. Absolutely, it's sometimes there is.
(22:03):
That's why you know our needs and you'll see on
our website our intake needs or donation needs includes bus passes,
gas cards because you have people interviewing virtually to get employment,
but then they can't get to the job that they
just got because they haven't been working. Those aren't things,
or they have to pay somebody else, because even someone
(22:26):
helping you and your family, everybody needs to resources, right,
So those are things that I just think that we
forget are part of the picture and closing right now.
It's important, but it's not the greatest need. It's just
one part. And even the child tax credit, I mean,
at least as of this interview, the child tax credit
(22:47):
has expired. It was something that helps families with children.
I believe in this country we need to make it permanent.
And as we were discussing just a few minutes ago,
the astronomical loss of child care, you're right, some of families,
whether there is just the woman is the head of
the household, or there's a couple, they can't afford for
(23:09):
both to work because childcare costs more than what they
would bring in, and so it forces them to stay
home or forces I mean, it's such a burden and
a barrier. It's a barrier two people being able to
actualize themselves. And it does not have to be that way.
In the wealthiest country on the face of the earth.
We are hedge of my nation, and we can afford
(23:31):
number one, to pay childcare workers much more than they
make right now, and to provide subsidies for that childcare,
so it doesn't eat up not every dollar, but more
than half of the money that people may be making,
dependent on how much they make. And the minimum wage
is seven five So if we just stick with seven
(23:53):
now in Ohio, our minimum wage goes up with inflation,
so we're at about eight dollars and eighty cents, but
even that's not enough. And as we talk about raising
the wage to a living wage, it turns out that
fifteen dollars is a starting point. It's not even the
ending point. It's not it's a starting point exactly. And
the other thing is that women are not equally paid
(24:14):
as men are paid in the same job. So then
that's another issue on top of that. So it's combined
with you know, as they said when COVID hit, that's
when a lot of women went to the sidelines of
the workforce because they were the ones that absorbed the
social changes that we experience, like homeschooling and the daycare issue.
(24:37):
And they are the ones who had to absorb that.
And when it comes to even married households, if you're
picking one or the other to not work. That is
why we also engage in talking about entrepreneurial type of
employment and teaching women not it's not just about that.
(24:58):
That's not the only aspiration there is. Be creative and
finding that employment opportunity, I mean nine the five is
so rare, and so many people have to piece together
two and three jobs just to make ends meet. And
the whole notion of just even the having the working
poor in the United States of America. That just doesn't
(25:19):
even make sense to me. A lot of people who
are homeless, as we know, work people are working, and
they still there on the grind, they're on the ground.
And for me, Madam CEO, that's no way to live
that if your whole life is constantly on the grind,
on the ground, and you never get a chance to
take a vacation, even if it's you know, down the street,
(25:40):
up the way, around the corner. Just change your surroundings
so that you can be edified in your living. And
it just the way that we devalue the poor, the
working poor, in the barely middle class in this country.
It burns my ass. I'm gonna just be honest with
it burns my behind greatly. I understand that what has
(26:04):
come to light and one of the other pillars that
we stand on five pillars. But health alone is is
one of the our pillars of purpose, we call it.
But if without your health, you can't do anything. And
that's not just physical health, is mental health, is financial health,
it's social health, you know, it's all of those things
that make us whole and vibrant. We were intended to
(26:27):
live holistic, not just live to work. That's exactly right.
So we want women to understand that they have choices
and that there's different combinations of things they can do,
and that's what we're here to do. We're not here
to say anyone given path is successful. We're here to
let you know that self defining success for yourself is perfectly,
(26:52):
perfectly fine, and that's what you should be doing. You
should find what makes you work and stop comparing yourself
to everybody else. I said, you are unique. Unique is
one our fingerprints exactly. We were designed, uniquely made for
a reason. And that and and having confidence in that.
(27:13):
It's hard because we have all these voices that we
listened to and all these voices that come in, and
sometimes we are not encouraged to be who we are
from day one. Tell me about it, from school, from
different walks of life. You know, I was encouraged to
be I was told I was quiet, I was not
(27:34):
a people person. I was a numbers person. And even
though the numbers part is true, but I went all
the way around the world I feel like to find
who I am and I came back and being in
the role I'm in today, do I deal with numbers. Yes,
but I'm more than just a bookkeeper, which is what
I started off to be because I was listening to
(27:56):
clergy my parents. Who can define a person at thirteen?
Even at seventeen you can't. So having that process of
self discovery is really important for everyone. And then coming
to your own self realization and exploration is very important
so that you can self actualize and self actualized is
(28:18):
gonna be different for everybody. And be okay with that
that said, I said, And you look, you're kicking the
knowledge Maslow's hierarchy of needs, baby. And once you get
to self actualization, you have done something. But in order
to get there, you gotta deal with the base of
the pyramid, and that is your physiological needs. You can't
self actualize until you deal with all the other things
(28:40):
that will get you there. I love how you said,
be okay with who you are. You know, we always
have a quote moment on hello somebody, So I'm filling
a couple of them. One is from the Amazing Share.
Women are the real architects of society, is what she said.
CEO Butler, do you agree with what she said on that? Lutely?
(29:00):
We influence everything and our decision making this different than men,
and we need to honor that because it brings a
lot to the table we have. You know, we're not
as black and white. We are colorful, we are vibrant,
We think differently, and instead of denying that, walk in it.
Walk in it and be confident that it brings a difference. Um.
(29:23):
And I think that one of the things that it's
missing from women's empowerment is men. Be honest. Men that
we are needed. You know, recognize us for the value
that we bring. And we're not trying to knock you out.
We're just trying to exist with you. Because did he
not make Adam and Eve? You know, so you know,
bring know that we are. We have a place here
(29:44):
and we compliment you im in more than one place. Yeah,
I love that. Be honest, men recognize, you know, and
some men do recognize that, and they do you honor us.
But unfortunately, the male dominated patriarchal society, the way that
(30:07):
we are socialized in this country, even still to this
day in many other countries, is from a male dominated perspective,
and it does not leave room for a collective or
collaborative perspective about life that we do need each other absolutely,
So that is beautiful what you just said. And then
my last hello somebody quote moment for today is it
(30:32):
comes from the amazing doctor Angela Davis, and she said
the following. You have to act as if it were
possible to radically transform the world, and you have to
do it all the time, you know, Ceo Butler, that's
what I think you're doing. Address for success. You are
comporting yourself as if it is possible to radically change
(30:55):
the world, and you are doing it on a regular basis.
I hope I'm doing it one woman at a time.
But I really think it's our community. And one of
the things that we have going on talking about celebrating
women that are walking in those male dominated fields. The
month of March, that is one of our that's our
biggest months, is celebrating women's history months International Women's Day.
(31:19):
We have a campaign called Your Hour, Her Power, and
every the last three years we are honored women who
are walking in those and breaking those ceiling glass doors.
And so that campaign is going on right now. But
the campaign itself is inclusive of all the community, and
we asked that everybody in the community donate one hour
(31:42):
of your pay to make a difference, no matter what
if you're making twelve dollars an hour or you're making
forty two dollars an hour, donate one hour of your
pay and one of the honorees. And this year we
have a payer that we're honoring Maurice Pernell and Mail
Tree Sharp because that is a man who is equally
(32:02):
recognizing a woman as his partner and he's doing his
thing and she's doing hers. And so we had to
bring the mail perspective into our campaign this year to
say that that's what is needed. We need more of that.
I know our campaign is coming to an end, but
our website has everything on there. But this is a
(32:23):
campaign that really helps us to do those things that
we're talking about and buy those gaps and fill those
gaps that we don't get in donations and dress for success.
Really really, even in after our post COVID, we're still
servicing about women a year and those women deserve your
(32:44):
support and the holistic way. And I couldn't think of
a better couple to be honored Larisa Moultres. They are incredible,
incredible givers to this community, pushing and uplifting black businesses
and particular killer. They are extraordinaries. I am so glad
to hear that they are. They are two of six
(33:05):
ounrees that we're highlighting. But um Linda Smith from Parker
Hannafan in the manufacturing world, Carry Carpenter in at Huntington Bank,
Thma Zabala from the nonprofit world, and also one of
your colleagues, Jenny Boyd, because of the law she passes
(33:25):
and the what she's trying to do stay representative Boyd. Right,
So those I mean, we're honoring people who are doing
things that empower women and making a difference and we
all can play a role in that. In Madame CEO,
where's your website? How can people find you? Our website
is very simple, Cleveland dot Dressed for success dot org.
(33:48):
Here it is, yes, Cleveland dot Dressed for success. With
that arg and our website is now the hub of
how to get connected. Whether you want to volunteer. We
are a volunteer based the organization where a staff of
three individuals. Everyone else is a volunteer. So how to
get connected is there. Whether we have a wish to
(34:09):
build our board right now, so if you want to
be a board member, that is on our website. If
you want to give clothing or donate plus tests, that
is on our website. If you're a woman and you
need something and services from just for success, you don't
need agencies to refer to today, you can self refer
so all of those connections are on our website. Well,
(34:31):
thank you so very much for all that you do,
and you definitely personifies what is possible. I think coming
in starting as a client and now you run in
the place, nobody can come in there with an excuse
when they talk to you, because you you let them know, Hey,
it can be done because I did it. So again,
the wonderful, magnificent Share women are the real architects of
(34:53):
society and Dr Angela Davis, you have to act as
if it were possible to radically transform the world world,
and you have to do it all the time. CEO Butler,
thank you so much for the gift that you are,
for the work that you do for a magnificent organization.
I want to shout out all of the volunteers because
I know that it takes teamwork to make the dream work.
(35:15):
So to you, your staff, the volunteers all over the
world Baby who are helping women in a very holistic way.
That is a ministry. We salute you. Dress for success,
y'all sign up. There's something for everybody to do. Go
to Cleveland dot dress for success dot org dot org. Baby,
(35:38):
y'all do that. Hello somebody, because everybody is somebody Mary,
Mary things. Somebody's giving us. Tell us somebody that time
(36:04):
times we hid. Yeah, change is coming. The pain is
nothing trying to shoot for the stars. If you're gonna
aim for something, to embrace the love for your brother
and sister, you need these the mission brush. We need
to puzzle this. Pictures painted up, frame it up for
the world to see. Hain't to hatred up. Enough is enough,
it's enough, making changes enough. In turn of a voice
(36:26):
of the truth to wise words inspire the youth to
keep their eyes on the roof. It's the end. Never
give up, keep conquering goals to the eye. Intelligence, silver,
wisdom is gold. Back to the end. Now is your time,
Stay firm, don't fold to the a or you need
is the three bombs. That's what Randie said. Now I'm
gonna make sure these words from Rannie Sprage for all
the hair to give it your air. She can take
(36:47):
him to the promised Land I swear world pieces what
they Fear. From Queen's to Cleveland, Ohio, were here famous
famous turning Tell Somebody needn't turn up, spanning Somebody turn on,
(37:08):
Tell somebody need turn on times one of those more
(37:28):
Hello Somebody is a production of I Heart Radio and
the Black Effect Network. For more podcast from our heart Radio,
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