VOA双语新闻 Women Looking for a Fresh Start

Many single low-income women who try to enter the work force find themselves competing for jobs that require business clothes they can't afford. That's where Suited for Change comes in.

很多努力寻找工作的低收入单身妇女发现，自己要通过竞争找到工作，需要合适的职业服装，但是她们买不起。这就是“搭配着装适应改变”这个机构应运而生的原因。

"We offer women professional attire 1 and professional consultation 2 to assist them in entering or re-entering the workforce 3," says Michelle Yorkman, a Program Director at Suited for Change. The D.C. non-profit is all about empowering women, whatever their background: unemployed 4 or on welfare, recovering drug addicts 5, victims of domestic abuse, recent immigrants. Over the past 15 years, the organization has helped more than 12,000 women as they looked for work.

米歇尔.约克曼是“搭配着装适应改变”机构的项目主任。她说：“我们为妇女提供职业服装和职业咨询，帮助她们进入或者重新进入就业市场。” 约克曼说，无论求助妇女的背景如何，不管她们是失业，依靠福利救济，正处于戒毒阶段，还是家庭暴力的受害者，或者是新来的移民，首都华盛顿的这家非赢利机构都会帮助他们，目的就是为了对妇女提供支持。在过去的15年里，这家机构已经帮助了1万2千多名寻找工作的女性。

"We have a seminar series that happens two or three times a year where we do image consultation," she says. "We show you how to dress and behave professionally. We offer business etiquette 6 training, financial management skills. The kind of human resources, paperwork management, how to learn about your benefits, everything that they can possibly need to get in the door and once they are there to be successful."

“我们每年举办两到三次系列讲座，专门进行形象方面的咨询。我们教参加讲座的女性如何着装，行为举止如何显得专业得体。我们还提供商业礼仪方面的培训，教授理财的技能，人力资源、文案管理以及如何了解你有哪些权益等等。 这些都是她们踏入工作岗位之后可能用得上的知识和技能。这样她们一旦迈入职业领域，能够尽快获得成功。”

After completing a job training or skills-development program, Suited for Change women are ready to be dressed for success, thanks to donations from individuals, companies and manufacturers.

在参加过培训或者技能发展项目之后，妇女们就开始为获得成功而穿衣打扮。这得感谢来自个人、公司和服装厂商的慷慨捐助。

"We have suits. We have separates. We have dresses," she says. "During winter months, we have coats. So the first visit they receive two outfits 7 and then once they've secured full-time 8 employment, they can come back and receive three more, so that they have a week's worth of outfits. With these outfits they get shoes, a handbag, accessories as well as one on one consultation with one of our volunteers to assist them in mixing and matching the outfits to maximize the clothing that they receive."

约克曼说：“我们这里有套装，有单件服装，也有女式礼服。在冬季，我们还有大衣。当她们要去面试的时候，她们会得到两套衣服。之后，一旦她们确实得到一份全职工作，她们可以回来，再得到三套服装。这样，她们就可以一个星期每天换一套衣服。和这些服装相配的还有鞋子、一只坤包以及女性所需的常用物品。同时，我们的志愿者还会给这些女性进行一对一的咨询，教她们如何混合搭配几套衣服，充份利用这些服装。”

Lucy, 43, has been employed as a temporary work and now hopes to find a permanent position.

这是露西第一次造访“搭配着装适应改变”机构。这位43岁的妇女现在是临时工，她希望找到一个永久的职位。

She says this is her first visit to Suited for Change. "I picked those three outfits but I'm only taking home two," she says. "It makes me feel good about myself. I'm excited."

“我挑选了那三套服装。我只准备带回家两套。这些衣服让我感觉很好。我很高兴。”

Volunteer Elaine Polkey serves as a wardrobe consultant 9 to the visiting women. "I'd say the majority of people that come here have never had the opportunity to experiment with their clothing or to have a choice," she says. "But you can get them to experiment, try on. That's I think the key. Some people just know how to dress. They look fantastic. Other people are really a little bit shy about trying new things. And when you can get them to do it, they can see how good they look. That's when the confidence grows."

志愿者艾琳.波尔奇是为来这里的妇女提供着装咨询的顾问，她说：“来这里的大多数人从来没有机会有穿衣方面的经验，从来没有什么选择。但是你可以让她们体验穿衣着装，让她们试穿。我认为这是关键所在。一些人懂得如何搭配穿衣，她们看上去非常出色。其他一些人对于尝试新的东西有些害羞，放不开。你可以让她们尝试一番，让她们看到自己看上去有多好。这可以增强她们的信心。”

Building self confidence is the ultimate goal, according to Suited for Change's Michelle Yorkman. "When you look good and you feel you are projecting a professional image. You are going to perform in a professional manner," she says. "You're going to feel as though you are qualified 10. You're going to feel that your answers are alright because you feel good about yourself and you are not self conscious about how you are being perceived or whether or not your clothes are appropriate for that job."

“搭配着装适应改变”机构的约克曼说，建立自信是这个机构的最终目标：“当你看上去很精神，你就会觉得你自己浑身上下都散发出一种很专业的气息。你举手投足之间会表现出一种专业化的样子。你会觉得好象自己真的能行。你会觉得你的回答都很到位，因为你对自己感觉良好。你可能连你自己都没有意识到，别人是怎样看待你的，或者说你的衣服是否适合那份工作。”

A visit to the organization's vast fashion warehouse 11, she says, can be a transforming experience for the client and her whole family. "There have been clients that have put on a suit, come out, looked in the mirror and began to cry," she says. "There have been clients who had their children waiting for them in the lobby. When they come out to show their new suit, the family is so overjoyed because they understand that this woman is making the step to become a working woman, which comes with a certain prestige. They know that this is a new start not only for them, but this is an example for their daughters."

她说，对于寻求帮助的女性客户以及她的全家来说，参观这家机构大量的时装库存是一种全新难忘的经历：“有一些顾客，她们穿上一套衣服，出来对着镜子看了之后，竟然激动地哭了起来。还有一些顾客让她们的孩子在大厅等她们。当她们出来展示她们的新套装的时候，整个家庭都会喜出望外，因为他们知道，这位妇女朝着成为一名职业女性的方向迈出了步伐，而且具备了相当的素质。她们明白，这不仅对于她们自己来说是一个新的开端，而且也为自己的女儿树立了榜样。”

Yorkman says it is not unusual for women who once came seeking help to come back a few years later, offering help. "We have a board member who was formerly 12 a client," she says. "Probably seven or eight years ago, she came to Suited for Change looking to regain 13 entry to the workforce. She was suited. She attended our workshops and learned skills she needed to be successful again. She has been constantly promoted with Xerox 14 over the years. She is now in a management position."

约克曼表示，一些女性曾经来到这里寻求帮助，几年之后她们又回到这里，为别人提供帮助，这样的事例并不鲜见：“我们机构有一位董事会成员，她原来就是这里的一位顾客。大概7、8年前，她来寻求帮助，准备重新回到工作岗位。她在这里找到了合适的服装，她参加了我们的讲座，学到了她重新获得成功所需要的技巧。这些年来，她在施乐公司经常获得升迁。她现在已经位居施乐公司的管理层。”

Like so many of its clients, Suited for Change has blossomed. Each year, it has attracted more volunteers, and served more women than before. It has become part of the Women's Alliance, a nationwide network of more than 30 similar non-profits that share experiences and resources. Recently, the Alliance launched its own clothing line to provide more variety and sizes of the professional attire women need for a successful new start in life.

正如自己的很多顾客一样，“搭配着装适应改变”这个机构也是一片兴旺发达的景象，吸引着越来越多的志愿者，女性顾客也比以往更多。这个机构已经成为美国妇女联盟的成员之一。这个全国性的网络组织包括了30多个非赢利机构，和别人分享自己的经验和资源。最近妇女联盟办起了自己的服装生产线，为女性提供更多样式和尺寸的职业服装，帮助妇女走上新的成功之路。