Realising Potential

Never judge a book by its cover – it's easier said then done.

In 2016, our world is driven by appearance. We judge, we point, we critique and we discriminate based on what we see. Forbes, emphasizes how important appearance is. However, “dressing appropriately” is not always within reach. We neglect to think of those who can’t afford designer work clothes and we laugh at those who haven’t been educated on what “correct” work attire is. The majority of us are lucky to grow up with parents with full time jobs; we intuitively learn what it means to be part of the “business world.” We know how to look the part.

How about those who haven’t had that opportunity?  Those who are trying to be the first in their family to get an office job? Or whose parents cant afford proper “business world” attire? Do they have a chance to make it?

Well like I said, appearance is everything in 2016.  Would you hire someone who turned up to a job interview wearing inappropriate clothes? No. And this is not a crime, nor is it uncommon. Standards exist for a reason. A first impression is important; it generally indicates whether a person has promise. All assessed based on how they act and look in one job interview. But what about those who want to do well, and will be dedicated, but just don't have the means or experience to demonstrate that in the way they dress?

Wear For Success.

Wear For Success (WFS) is a not-for-profit social enterprise. It understands and endeavors to show others, that “everyone has potential.” Furthermore, they help everyone find his or her potential. Their mission statement states: “if we can engender confidence in people by helping them look and feel the part on their journey towards employment, then we’ve done our job.”

So how do you instill confidence and self- belief in people who are struggling to enter the business world?  Wear for Success’s focus seems three-fold:

Firstly, they make people feel valued, important and empowered. Simply throwing people some decent clothes and telling them what to wear, does not establish confidence. The issue is much deeper then that. According to Forbes many people don't get jobs or don't progress in the work place due to low self-esteem. If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect others to believe in you? Wear for Success seeks to instill confidence beyond nice clothes, as seen in the video below.

Wear For Success Facebook Video 

“We all know how important it is to dress appropriate for job interviews, but it is more important for them to feel confidence within themselves”

Secondly, WFC educate clients by giving tips and teaching them appropriate work place behavior.

Solely volunteers run the enterprise. Thus, different organizations fund programs. Accenture fund a Career Support Training program. Where professional corporate trainers deliver résumé writing, interview preparation, computer basics and many more programs to clients. This helps clients not be constantly overlooked for job interviews. They gain basic skills, necessary to get them up and running.

 

Finally, as Wear for Success implies they help clients dress to impress. Once they feel confidant, have been educated on what to do, the last step (the highlight for many) is receiving clothing. As the public donates all items, WFS rely heavily on the generosity of others.  In a one-hour fitting, you truly witness a transformation. Not only in they way the client looks, but the increase in confidence when they see themselves. They are inspired and motivated to achieve because they finally feel they can.

Work For Success is a social enterprise driven to kick start the lives of those less fortunate. Established in 2011, run by a dedicated group of volunteers and management team, including a volunteer board, it is hard to fault this amazing business. They have the capacity and demand to expand, and I would recommend they did. Being a registered charity, they have many people dedicating their time free of charge.   It exhibits a positive work environment and a very organized workplace system.

Who supports them?

What they have achieved so far?

How can you help?

Work for Success receives no federal or state government funding. They rely solely on donations of: 

Money

Clothes

Time

Volunteers 

Follow them on:

• Facebook

•  Twitter

•  LinkedIn

• Instagram

Visit them at:

All Images Source

Wear for Success is a not-for profit social enterprise making a big difference in the lives of others. Getting a job is a fundamental part of life. A job allows people to feel important, valued and gives them the ability to provide for themselves, so they can lead the life they want. Everyone deserves the chance to be successful, if you are hard working, dedicated and driven, small details like the clothes you wear and whether you know how to prepare a resume shouldn't stand in the way.

If you can dress for success, then help Wear for Success give others that chance too. 

Crepes with a Difference.

40,000 – that’s the number of babies born worldwide every 2 hours, its half the seats in the MCG and its the number of kids who undertake the VCE English exam every year. But most significantly - 40,000 is the number of young people that sleep rough in Australia every night.

That’s 40,000 too many.

Dan Poole and his team at Crepes for Change, didn't wait around for others to make a revolution in Youth Homelessness, they realised they could make a difference.

“We can either wait for someone else to fix it, or we can fix it ourselves”

              – Liam Poole

They created Australia’s first non-profit food van, where 100% of the profits would go towards eliminating Youth Homelessness - A van with a social plan.  

Their goal/mission is: To be able to employ, train and support young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and allow them to find long-term employment and prosper on their own. (http://crepesforchange.com/about/)

Crepes for Change – Eliminating Youth Homelessness

CFC Featured in the 2016 January Herald Sun. 

In 2014 they were two Melbourne brothers with an idea.  In 2016 they have progressed to a team of 9 executives, 3 paid staff and 19 volunteers (The Age) and an expansion into coffee and crepes.  How did they do it?

Founder, Dan Poole, 21, was driven to have a “positive impact on the lives of others through entrepreneurship.” It was his passion and dedication towards starting a business with a difference that provided the starting point for its success.  When you want to be the first people with a not-for-profit food van, and made it work, - determination is elevated. Furthermore, having an idea that revolved around helping others brings extra motivation - if you are unsuccessful, you not only let yourself down, but in this case, the 40,000 young homeless kids you set out to help. Therefore, I consider Crepes for Change (CFC) success is because it has 3 main differences from competitors:

1. Dan's/ the teams passion for entrepreneurship
2. The mission of being ‘not for profit’ and the determination not let down 40,000 young people     
3. One of a kind/ Unique - it had never been done before

Founder Dan Poole, 21, and his brother Liam, 19. 

With these three points of difference, Dan and his brother Liam, 19, set out to succeed. Initially they raised $12,000 through crowd funding (GoodFood.com). This was mainly done through an Internet site called Chuffed - https://www.chuffed.org where people could subscribe and donate to CFC, and 100% of donations would go to starting up the business.

Crepes for Change's Chuffed Webpage - Where the initial $12,000 was raised.
Also where you can still donate today. 

So many choices!

Always busy at Crepes for Change!

How they managed to raise $12,000 for something that didn't exist yet seems hard to conceive. However, remember this is not-for-profit. I believe many would share my personal attitude – being more willing to contribute to a business that has a social focus – you get the feeling that you are making a difference.

They as a company are different. Apart from being the first not-for-profit food van in Australia, they also focus on the education of young disadvantaged Australians. They have established a program inside the CFC van where they learn hospitality and barista skills, which can be used in the future. Money only goes so far, but it is these skills that will allow youth to get jobs and make a living and life for themselves – escaping homelessness.

An integral part of a not-for-profit organization is that your customers are educated on the issue you are addressing. Otherwise what makes you different from a chain store that just takes your money? It’s simple: if there are two food or crepe vans next to each other; one gives its profits towards youth homelessness, and the other owner pockets the profits, which would you choose? Giving back is part of what makes us feel good about ourselves, if people are aware of it they will do it (most of the time). When I ordered my crepe from the CFC van at a #GlobalHungerHack weekend, it wasn’t because I was actually feeling like a crepe, it was because I had been told that they were a social enterprise and not-for-profit business.

Crepes for Change are special, and I want them to remind people of that more. My only change would be to possible provide a receipt to customers, with information on the back, which can be read while the order is prepared. Information about the contribution to youth homelessness or other ways the profits are used to help. Make homelessness known and getting other people on board gives you a greater change of achieving the lofty goals that have been set.

An example of what facts could be on the back on a receipt- reminding customers how their money is contributing towards eliminating youth homelessness. 

Crepes for Change are making a big difference in youth Homelessness. Dan hopes to raise over $100,000 in 2016, and with 5 emails a day asking him to cater at different events I have no doubt he will achieve his goal and perhaps do better.

Crepes For Change are a business with a difference, they are making a positive change towards youth homelessness and everyone should get on board.

Read more at: 

• Crepes for Change Official Website
• Good Food Review 
• Crepes for Change Chuffed Webpage
• The Age Article

 Visit them:

•  March 23rd @ Coburg Drive in Cinema

 Volunteer at:

• Crepes for Change Sign Up Instructions 

Donate at:

• Chuffed Webpage 

Follow: 

• CFC Instagram
• CFC Facebook
• Dan Poole's Linked In

(Disclosure: unless otherwise stated images & facts sourced from http://crepesforchange.com/)