Skip to Main Content
Doing More Today
  • News
  • Community
    • Associates in Action
    • Community Engagement
    • Small Business
    • Economic Development
  • Insights & Innovation
    • Economic Commentary
    • Insights
    • Innovation
  • Financial Wellness
    • Financial Wellness
    • Fraud Prevention
  • See the Good
    • Culture
    • Good Company
    • Good Towns
    • Good Pets
    • Ecards
    • Recipes
    • Riding Forward
Subscribe Now
Regions Bank

Regions Bank: Doing More Today: Good stories. Better insights. More possibilities.

Share
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share via Email
Subscribe
Professional Clothing Drive
Category: Community Engagement

Looking the Part: Clothing Drive Helps Special Jobseekers Take off Toward Careers

Regions associates support workforce readiness program in Atlanta’s Aerotropolis.

By Veleka Finch | July 15, 2021

Since September 2020, STRIVE Atlanta has been helping elevate a special group of people above a stormy cloud – that’s grown more turbulent in the coronavirus pandemic.

The cloud is joblessness. And STRIVE holds a proverbial boarding pass to fly beyond it.

STRIVE Atlanta is a nonprofit that provides workforce readiness training for underserved members of the Aerotropolis community, a collection of low- and moderate-income areas surrounding the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

“We take a holistic approach at STRIVE. It’s not just encompassing their career goals, but what would employment look like for their lives, their family,” said An’Renae Watkins, a career coach at STRIVE. “We make sure they have an outline of what their goals are and take steps necessary to meet those goals. We help move them along, so it doesn’t seem like they are stuck in one place.”

STRIVE clients attend a seven-week program that helps determine their job interests and provide training for administrative support careers. But the needs don’t stop there. That’s where community partnerships come into play – like STRIVE’s connection to Regions Bank, where associates are raising their hands to help.

Professional Clothing Drive

This spring Regions held a professional clothing drive where associates could drive up to branch locations in the Atlanta area to donate gently worn business suits and top and bottom separates to give Strive participants professional attire for job interviews.

“We had an awesome amount of participation. I think people really appreciated the opportunity to give back,” said Kyle Patterson, community relations officer and organizer for the drive. “I was thrilled to see that even in a pandemic, we were still able to find a way to keep this going.”

The clothes are intended not only to make applicants more comfortable and confident during interviews; they represent something more – their ability to pursue successful careers.

“Participants in job training programs need additional support and resources once they complete the programming, since many of them are underemployed or unemployed,” said Tiffany Kirk, community development officer for Regions. “Since this program focuses on administrative support careers, we felt that providing professional attire was an effort we could assist.”

The donations were a welcome arrival for STRIVE.

“Our participants come from all walks of life. We have some who are transitioning from homelessness, so they may not have access to professional clothing,” Watkins said. “When you go in for an interview, you want to feel like you dress the part. So having access to the clothes that were provided from the drive is such a great confidence booster for them.”

STRIVE’s latest cohort graduated in June. Watkins said many of the participants benefited from the clothing items donated by Regions associates. Regions volunteers have also provided financial education on money habits, and some associates are considering becoming mentors to Strive participants. Their engagement and willingness to come beside others on the way toward career destinations is applauded.

“A lot of times we live in a community, but we really haven’t connected,” Watkins said. “Pursuing these opportunities to serve not only benefits Strive participants but can enrich the lives of volunteers as well.”

Professional Clothing Drive

Share
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share via Email
Subscribe

Trending Articles

  • 1.

    Milestone in Mascoutah: Regions Banker Celebrates 60 Years at the Same Branch

  • 2.

    Home is Where the Wealth is

  • 3.

    Holy Moly! We’ve Got More Good Pets!

  • 4.

    June 2025 | Economic Commentary

  • 5.

    Best Remedy for Mortgage Fraud: Stop, Call and Confirm

Related Articles

Shawntelle Fisher, founder and CEO of the SoulFisher Ministries headshot.
Category: Community Engagement

Good for the Soul

Elder fraud scam illustration.
Category: Fraud Prevention

Elder Fraud: Five Red Flags

Jennifer Boone, Managing Director & Capital Markets Assistant General Counsel.
Category: News

In the Limelight: Jennifer Boone

Sydney Johnson, a Treasury Management relationship manager at Regions Bank.
Category: News

From Intern to Innovator: Finding the Perfect Role at Regions

Moses Henry, Regions Community Mortgage Loan Officer.
Category: News

In the Limelight: Moses Henry

Group photo with a woman in the front of the...
Category: Community Engagement

School’s Out for Summer!

  • Regions Tradition: Volunteering for a Cause
  • Helping Newcomers the Regions way
  • Some Assembly Required
  • Congratulations to First Quarter 2025 Regions Riding Forward Scholarship Contest Winners
Regions.com | About Regions | Investor Relations | Privacy & Security | Website Terms of Use | Contact Regions | Careers at Regions
© 2025 Regions Bank Member FDIC |
All Rights Reserved | Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender | Online Privacy