Clothes That Wore opened for business in the Montgomery County Job Center on June 12, 1998. I was amongst the first class of volunteers to go through training to become personal shoppers for the women that were referred to us by partners to provide interview and workplace-appropriate clothing to single mothers who were affected by welfare reform in the 1990s. In July 2002, CTW hired their first Executive Director, Kym Yahn, a former Board member and one of the founding mothers. In that same year they served their 3,000th client.
In an effort to secure new revenue streams for CTW, the Boutique opened in 2005, selling donated clothing that was not interview appropriate. In 2008, Clothes That work celebrated their 10-year 
anniversary. By this time they had served 12,000 clients in the Greater Dayton area. CTW also moved to a larger suite in the job center in order to increase operational effectiveness and efficiency. Five years later, Clothes That Work celebrated their 15 year milestone in 2013 and earned the Better Business Bureau’s Eclipse Integrity Award.
In 2018, Cindy Garner became the 5th Executive Director for Clothes That Work during the organization’s 20th Anniversary. Cindy’s leadership helped them navigate virtual fundraisers through covid and for the first time ever, grow the staff and launch a capital campaign to think beyond their four walls.
So today on the 25th Anniversary Celebration for Clothes That Work I’m still so proud of this organization thatlives its mission daily: to clothe, educate, and empower individuals to prepare them for employment success. CTW has now impacted more than 39,000 women, men and independent teens in our community. And with the addition of the mobile unit they debuted at today’s celebration, its so great to know that CTW will continue help job seekers make great first impressions and present themselves confidently with their clothing new to them!
Is someone’s future hanging in your closet? Proper interview attire can be THE barrier to getting work for some job seekers. A new outfit changes perspectives, builds confidence and creates possibilities for our clients. Click here for ways you can help.
