That year, approximately 3,000 pieces of clothing were donated for about 200 women who took part in the event. Since then, Operation Dress Code has expanded to San Diego and partnered with the Courage to Call program. Every year the number of donations, resources, volunteers and women veterans the program serves grows exponentially. By Holly Shaffner
back for a 5th year! Think about it – from the minute a service member raises their right hand and swears to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, they are told what to wear to work each and every day. Whether two years or twenty years, military men and women don’t think past, “do I need to wear a dress uniform or work uniform today?” Then they transition from active duty to civilian life and need to attend professional meetings, go to internships and to job interviews. That is intimidating enough then add not knowing what to wear or having the right clothes. Transitioning military men are given assistance to learn how to wear suits, ties, and choose the matching belt, shoes and socks. Sometimes they are provided gift certificates for new business suits. But that doesn’t always happen for women leaving the military.
In 2017, San Diego Operation Dress Code served 450 female veterans by giving away more than 10,000 of pieces of clothing, purses, shoes, and accessories. There were 34 drop off locations throughout San Diego County and McLain estimates there were over 15,000 articles of clothes donated. Any left over clothing, shoes and accessories are made available to female veterans throughout the year with the Courage to Call program. According to the California Department of Veterans Affairs, California is home to nearly 145,000 women who served in our U.S. military and San Diego County has the highest percentage of women veterans in the state. These women are returning home to go to college, start their careers, launch new businesses and raise families. Operation Dress Code can provide the professional clothing and expert advice they need to start off on the right foot. So how does it work? During the month of October, San Diegans donate thousands of pieces of new and gently used clothing, shoes, purses and accessories. Courage to Call staff then picks up the donations from the drop off locations and sorts every piece of clothing by size, every pair of shoes and every accessory.
That’s why Operation Dress Code is so important and helps to fill the gap between leaving active duty and starting a new life as a civilian. Someone who navigated that transition is the San Diego Program Manager for Mental Health Systems-Courage to Call and Operation Dress Code, United States Navy veteran RanDee McLain. RanDee has been managing the San Diego location of Operation Dress Code for four years. She says, “Operation Dress Code is important to me as a female veteran. Many of us wore a uniform from the time we left high school and have no idea how to dress for success in the civilian work force – this helps alleviate one more barrier to successful employment.” With McLain at the helm, she has taken this program to whole new level. Operation Dress Code started in Sacramento in 2014 when a clothing closet was organized as part of the annual Women’s Conference being hosted by the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
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HOMELAND / July 2018
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