Episode #6: Verizon Community Partnership Chat with Rhonda L. Treadwell, Executive Director, Dress for Success Memphis, Inc. in Memphis, TN

In Verizon's latest Community Partnership Chat, I enjoyed paying a "virtual visit," to the City of Memphis, TN; where I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Rhonda Lambert Treadwell, Executive Director, Dress For Success Memphis, Inc., a local nonprofit dedicated to helping women achieve economic independence.

During our time together, Mrs. Treadwell discussed the crucial role that her organization plays, not only, in giving women the clothing they need to ace an interview; but also, in providing them with the confidence and the career-development skills they need to thrive in the workplace.?Watch the full video and read the full transcript below.

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Episode No. 6: Verizon Community Partnership Chat with Rhonda L. Treadwell, Executive Director, Dress for Success Memphis, Inc., in Memphis, TN

— TRANSCRIPT—

Justin Tanner: ?Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Justin Tanner, Director of External Affairs for Verizon's South Region.?I would like to welcome our audience to the next edition of Verizon's Community Partnership Chats – a new series of conversations we'll be hosting over the next several months with local nonprofit leaders in the City of Memphis.?Our goal with these conversations is to generate greater awareness and visibility for our local partners, as well as highlight the important impact that they're having in the local community. And today I am truly, truly honored to host our latest episode with Ms. Rhonda Lambert Treadwell, who currently serves as the Executive Director of Dress for Success, Memphis. Hey Rhonda, how are you?

Rhonda Treadwell: Hi, Justin.?I'm doing great. Of course, it's a little bit icy here in Memphis.

Justin Tanner: Yeah.

Rhonda Treadwell: So I'm working remotely from home.?But thank you so much for having me.?We’re great here.

Justin Tanner:?And thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us.?I know it's pretty challenging there in Memphis, with the weather, but we'll plow through here.

Rhonda Treadwell: Yes.

Justin Tanner: But more specifically, as I understand things, you are I guess, what many folks in Memphis would call a key figure and somebody whose vision and work has really made a profound impact on the greater Memphis area.?And so for those in our audience who are not as familiar with you or your work, my first question is about your role.?As I stated earlier, you lead Dress for Success, Memphis and we were wondering if you could go into a little bit of detail about that, on that.?I know my organization, Verizon has a national relationship, but would love to hear more about the mission of a local partner.?You know, what you guys do on a day to day basis and how you help the local community.

Rhonda Treadwell: Well, again, thank you for having me. I'm Rhonda Treadwell, Executive Director of Dress for Success Memphis.?Basically, we are a nonprofit organization.?We are incorporated and we provide interview appropriate work attire for women and when they're transitioning back to work along with that confidence boost, as well as, you know those career development skills that they need so they can go back to work.?So, here in Memphis, we were established in 1988, and by 19, and it was, we were established at Idlewild Presbyterian Church.?Most of our affiliates started out as like career closets, helping women, you know, get back to work, that type of thing, those women in need.?And by 1999, Justin, we joined Dress for Success nationally.

So, since 1999, that's 23 years we've been here in Memphis.?I came on in 2017.?I had retired.?I have an extensive background in workforce development, school to work transition, employment to education, school to work transition as well as education and training, employment and training, and the workforce development of welfare to work.?So working with women in need, the Tanner programs.?The last 15 years of my career I worked the Tanner program and I retired, looked at my husband and said I needed to be doing something else.?So I threw my hat in the ring.?Was able to come on with Dress For Success in Memphis, as a consultant, I'd worked with them before, but in the process, we were kind of up under a little rock, going real slow.?So I took on the challenge and am very proud to say that by March of 2019, we began our rebirth.?We were able to garner the support of the community, you know, reconnect with these referral agency partners, and really serve the women here in Memphis.

So, of course, you know, the mission is all about empowering women towards economic independence, providing them the professional attire, development tools to help them thrive and work in life. So that's our mission for why. So since 1999, we've served more than 15,000 women here in Memphis.

Justin Tanner: Wow –

Rhonda Treadwell: And we are now part of a network of 151 affiliates in 20 countries through now, which is now called Dress for Success Worldwide.?So we're just proud to have the support of the community again, we're proud to have the funding that Verizon, you've recognized us and we thank you for that.?But the whole thing is to make sure that we're impacting the lives of women and their families.

Justin Tanner: Gotcha, gotcha. Well, that sounds like amazing work – and particularly the financial independence piece.?And that actually is kind of a good segue into my next question.?Can you speak a little bit more about how you've been maintaining your services, particularly in light of the last couple of years with COVID and the new variants that have been introduced to society?

Rhonda Treadwell: All right. So our signature programs, of course, are interviewing and employment suiting, and our emphasis on employment retention.?So we partner with about, we have eight, we have actually 100 referral agency partners on our referral list.?Working with them, when women complete their training, their certification, they're referred to us, and we suit them for their job interview. We've actually, you know, everybody has a story. Everybody, women have been challenged tremendously within the last couple of years. And in the process, we get them to tell the, you know tell us their story as well as we engage with them as we're preparing them and suiting them. We make sure that this outfit is a professional outfit that suits their height, weight, body shape.?And we give everybody a set of pearls.?We say a little prayer, check their resume, and send them on a job interview.?Hopefully, they will get the job.?And if they should become employed then they're referred back and they receive a week's worth of clothing.?So, there's no excuse for them not to go to work.

Now, something that we found within the last couple of years is that, you know, Memphis is a transportation, logistics, you know, warehousing hub.?So, therefore, we set up a category called critical needs.?We receive clothing through our donors, okay.?People clean out their closets and they give us the items that they, they're still in working, good working condition but maybe they're not working anymore and they, you know, give it to us.?We as a good steward make sure we put those outfits together and they are sorted and the whole nine yards and they're prepared for our clients.?But when they go to work in warehousing, they may get a shirt but they may still need skid proof shoes or steel toed boots or appropriate pants.

So we ask our donors when they come in, we've helped you clean out your closet, give us $10, $20 and we put that aside in a little account.?So when an individual does get hired in the situation and they may not have those items necessary to go to work, we're able to purchase those for them.?So the whole goal is to make sure that they can go to work.

Justin, April, Monday, April the sixth, 2020, it was devastating (laughing).?You know??We had to close down everything.

Justin Tanner: Oh my gosh!

Rhonda Treadwell: Close down completely. [Dress for Success] Worldwide came back and said, "Okay, guys, we've got to do something different.?"We need to pivot."

And we're going, pivot, what do you mean pivot? We were doing emails.?We were making calls.?We were still trying to reach out to our clients and make sure that they were engaged and understand that we were here for them.?And not only from the standpoint of employment, but there were additional resources that they need to know where they could get food, where they could get rental assistance, where they could, it was just so much going on.?So, we were able to set up our Virtual Career Center and utilize all of our social media platforms to make sure that we were getting these announcements out to the women and their families as well as doing contactless clothing and suitings.

That's not as much as fun.?You know, we got their sizes and stuff and we were able to hand it to the door.?It was just so much stuff going on at that time.?But we were able to pivot and I'm very proud to say that we established a Virtual Career Center.

Justin Tanner: Wow.

Rhonda Treadwell: So you log in, everybody has a phone, mostly, if you don't have anything else, you got a phone, right?

Justin Tanner: Oh yeah.

Rhonda Treadwell: Everybody has internet access.?So we were able to link in to our clients and volunteers and keep them encouraged and engaged and, you know, informed as we went through this challenge.?I'm trying my best not to use the word COVID. Anyway (laughing)...

Justin Tanner: Yeah, no, I get it.

Rhonda Treadwell: But we were very successful as far as being able to pivot and still be that resource within our Memphis community to women and their families. So yeah, we were pretty proud of that.

Justin Tanner: Well, that's a wonderful story.?And as you can imagine, my company as a communications provider, we saw a lot of challenges as it related to distance learning and video conferencing and trying to maintain what we eventually started to call the new normal, it'd be effective and productive.?It's been a pleasure getting to know you over these last several weeks. And I remember during one of our recent conversations, you spoke briefly about a dear friend of yours, a young lady who recently passed away. I think her name is Cheslie Kryst, I believe?

Rhonda Treadwell: Yes.

Justin Tanner: And so for those who are unfamiliar, you know, the way I kind of heard about her in the media was as someone who had gained a lot of notoriety winning Miss America and winning the Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants. And she was actually, it is my understanding, it was the first time the Black woman had won all three or four, maybe even, titles in a year. So I still have to say, can you speak more about the special relationship that she had with Dress for Success Memphis and your customers?

Rhonda Treadwell: Yes, Cheslie Kryst, is an amazing and phenomenal young woman.?And she's part of Dress for Success Memphis's rebirth in 2019.?When she became Miss USA, African American woman, a lawyer, she's phenomenal, her platform was Dress for Success.?She had actually volunteered with our affiliate in North Carolina and she made that her platform.

Justin Tanner: Wow.

Rhonda Treadwell: So, when I found out, she was crowned in May, so when I found out that we could connect with the Miss Universe and get her in, so I was out there.?I said, "Hey, can you come to Memphis in September?"?And she did!

To meet her, Justin, was phenomenal. Her joy, her presence, her personality. She was just wonderful. She told her story. She shared this with us. We had a sold out event but one of the things closest to my heart, my church has a Girl Scout Troop – 20 little black girls.?They're wonderful. They're one of the top troops in Memphis. They really are.

So I arranged for her, for them, when I picked her up from the airport the evening before our event, they were at the Memphis Hilton hotel to receive her. It was phenomenal. They were dressed in their white blouses and black skirts. And they all had little crowns and they sat there and received her and asked her questions, and she interacted with them.?They took pictures.?This was something that I felt was so important for the little girls to meet this celebrity, you know – this Miss USA that looked like them.?And it was just wonderful.?The entire evening was magic.?It really, really was, I have to say.??I'm still getting text messages and people calling because it was just a wonderful event.

Her personality in and of itself.?Her being there representing Dress for Success Worldwide as their Impact Ambassador, and being, you know, I took her to Cozy Corner.?When you come to Memphis, I'll take you to Cozy Corner.?She interacted with our professional women's group.?You know, all the media outlets, the whole nine yards.?It was just, we were, I think we were the first organization to bring her to Memphis and it just made a lasting impact on us all and her legacy will live on.?We will now incorporate and make it a point to bring in monthly that discussion on mental health and well-being for women.

Justin Tanner: Absolutely.

Rhonda Treadwell: It's something we'll always cherish.

Justin Tanner: Well, I'm so grateful that you and the young ladies there had the chance to have that experience.?And you know, my heart goes out to her family – such a tragedy!?What would you consider to be your most significant achievement of the past year, if you had to kind of think about it, or do you have one?

Rhonda Treadwell: Yeah, I have several.

Justin Tanner: Okay.

Rhonda Treadwell: 2021 accomplishments. Okay, they included Dress for Success, Memphis, number one, keeping our doors open.????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Justin Tanner: Absolutely.

Rhonda Treadwell: That was vital as far as nonprofit organizations is concerned and without any traditional fundraising.?Okay, because you couldn't meet, can't party.?People are sociable, especially here in Memphis.?So, notwithstanding that, the success with our Virtual Career Center and making sure that clients were engaged and volunteers were engaged 'cause we had them sign on.?They may not have been able to come on site but they were able to sign up to be presenters or coaches, career coaches and mentors to our clients.?And with having presented more than 35 monthly virtual workshops, we engaged more than 215 unique individuals and had over 300 attendees.

Justin Tanner: Wow.

Rhonda Treadwell: We did incorporate Grow with Google on a worldwide network as well.?But helping people to understand how to navigate those virtual technical skills necessary, digital skills.?Okay, so that was a learning process.?Another thing for Dress for Success Memphis, Justin, we made a move and when I say we made a move, we literally relocated to a new location in 2020.

Justin Tanner: Wow, congratulations!

Rhonda Treadwell: Yes, 2021, we moved into a 5,800 square foot facility.?3121 Director's Row is now in the airport, White Haven area.?We're very proud of that.?It's a beautiful location.?It suits all of our needs.?We were also able to, you know, sometimes when things occur it gives you a time to reflect and evaluate.?So we were able to sit down and map out more structurally, our programming.?So we came up with a layout of our Business Mentorship Program.?You know, women became very, very creative and innovative as they lost their jobs, as they thought about providing for the homes and families.?So, I have this wonderful consultant that's working with me and she's developed this intensive boot camp for women that are interested in becoming entrepreneurs.

Justin Tanner: Wow.

Rhonda Treadwell: And then business owners. So that's, we've just launched that. We're really proud of that.?And just being recognized by Verizon, in and of itself was an accomplishment. We want thank you guys for that.?Because with those funds, we were able to continue with our virtual learning and as well as, you know, be that impact and that go-to agency that women can come to for help.

Justin Tanner: Wow.?Well, that's just a phenomenal story.?I think I shared with you earlier in a prior meeting that I had traveled to Memphis quite frequently to visit my nephews and my brother and sister-in-law.?My nephews are five and seven, so definitely would love to see you in person there.?I'm based in Atlanta.

Rhonda Treadwell: You’ve got to come visit!?You’ve got to come visit.

Justin Tanner: Yeah…

Rhonda Treadwell: You cannot come to Memphis without visiting Dress for Success Memphis, okay?

Justin Tanner: Absolutely, absolutely!?And so, I guess before (this has been a phenomenal conversation) obviously, and I wish we had more time.?But, as we kind of look to wrap it up: Is there anything else you'd like to share??So, for example, I know you mentioned social media... I'm pretty active on social media.?Would love to, you know, make sure I'm following you there.?Is there anything that's given you hope over the next couple of months, as you think about 2022, any other additional thoughts you have?

Rhonda Treadwell: You know what??Some of the things that I see in our future??First of all, when everything, when our lives became changed, okay, I'm a very proactive thinker.?And instead of being like, oh my God, you know, we have to shut down.?My rationale in my thinking was, okay, we're going through this right now; but we need to get ready for when businesses open back up, when people are ready to go back to work.?

I have a bubble of volunteers that work with me on a daily basis and we have set up a strategy to make sure that when the onslaught of our referral agency partners and the clients come in, we're ready for them, okay??We're organizing things.?We'll be happy for them to come on site to our, you know, Career Center, but we got the virtual stuff up and going.?So we got them linked in that way.

But more importantly, you know, there is hope that hopefully I'll get back to that goal of working with 300 to 400 women a year and helping them be dressed, be professional.?We view what we offer, Justin, as essential skills training.?Okay, that gray area, they may already have their certification.?They may already have their degree, but now it's time to go out and market themselves. So the question is: How do you introduce yourself??What are you saying??Have you done your research on this company??You know, all those things that we take for granted.?And a lot of times people just assume, you know, that you know.?So, that essential skills training and making sure that we're doing that.

The hope, you know, is so phenomenal.?I think we brought in more money this last year than we have in years (laughing).

Justin Tanner: Oh gosh!

Rhonda Treadwell: ?'Cause people have been so benevolent…

Justin Tanner: Yeah….

Rhonda Treadwell: With financially, as well as donating clothing, you know, women are resilient.?Always remember that!

Justin Tanner: Oh I know…?Oh yeah.

Rhonda Treadwell: And our program is basically designed not just to give a hand out, but to be, and give a hand up to women that are serious about investing in themselves and providing for themselves and their families.?So, you know, that's our impact.

I'm so blessed.?I feel so blessed to make sure and be engaged with this.?I have my own personal story and that's why I'm here.?And that's why my goal is to make sure that this program will continue on even past when I leave or whatever the case may be.

Before I leave, because you've done this with me, I want to make sure that you receive your bag because now you are an official Impact Ambassador of Dress for Success and Dress for Success in Memphis, in particular.?We'll say Dress for Success Worldwide but Dress for Success, Memphis.

So Justin, thank you for allowing me to be on.

Justin Tanner: Oh, and thank you.?Thank you so much!?You have…

Rhonda Treadwell: I will mail it to you.

Justin Tanner: Yeah, you have a message that.

Rhonda Treadwell: No, you come and get it!

Justin Tanner: Oh yeah.?Definitely, definitely!?Another excuse for my wife and I to travel there.

Rhonda Treadwell: Exactly.

Justin Tanner: And you mentioned, actually, volunteers.?So, in case you're not aware, Verizon has a employee volunteer portal where we've committed to, I think it's 2.5 million hours over the next couple of years to donate with our community partners.?And so I would love to make sure you're engaged where our employees there in Memphis are engaged with any –

Rhonda Treadwell: Since we're opened back up…

Justin Tanner: Yeah…

Rhonda Treadwell: And I've got plenty of stuff for people, so we're still unpacking, okay?

Justin Tanner: Yeah, I gotcha.

Rhonda Treadwell: We need hands. So I definitely will reach out and make sure that that engagement happens.

Justin Tanner: Well, hold me to that, and thank you so much for joining us today and sharing some additional insight with our audience about the work that you do.?But most importantly, thank you for sharing your passion and your commitment to helping the women of Memphis gain financial independence, as well as the greater, the contribution you've made to the greater Memphis community.?We really, really appreciate it.?And we appreciate your work!

Rhonda Treadwell: Thank you!?We just encourage the individuals that may see this recording, give to your local affiliate.?You know, of course give to Memphis, but give to your local affiliate, get involved.?You know, that support means so much to us.?So thank you so very much Justin.

Justin Tanner: Talk to you soon!

Rhonda Treadwell: Have a good one!

— TRANSCRIPT ENDS —