Ghazal Shaloodegi got here to Canada just a few years in the past to check at UBC-Okanagan.
The Kelowna, B.C., girl and single mother stated beginning a brand new life in another country will be powerful.
“It’s not only a language barrier but it’s also a culture barrier,” Shaloodegi stated. “Also, it’s about the self esteem because you’re completely new.”
Nevertheless, the 37-year-old is overcoming these challenges due to a non-profit group referred to as Costume for Success.
“They are very welcoming,” Shaloodegi stated. “They gave me that self confidence, that self-esteem.”
Costume for Success has been working worldwide for nearly three a long time however solely six years in Kelowna.
“We are fairly young in the Kelowna landscape,” stated Lori Stevenson, Costume for Success Kelowna govt director.
The group helps ladies, comparable to single mothers or newcomers, cut back obstacles to employment.
“We serve women from just under 18 years old to over 60,” Stevenson stated. “All walks of life, all educational levels and all stages in their career because we never know when life circumstances are going to throw a curveball at us or things are going to change.”
Get breaking Nationwide information
For information impacting Canada and world wide, join breaking information alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
Costume for Success affords quite a lot of companies to assist ladies with their employment objectives together with entry to enterprise apparel, private {and professional} improvement packages in addition to mentorship workshops and profession companies comparable to assist with resumes and job interviews.
In accordance with the group, demand for its companies has grown considerably in recent times.
Actually, within the final three years alone, the variety of purchasers searching for help has tripled.
“I think the cost of living. We are looking at unprecedented housing costs and costs of living,” Stevenson stated. “We have a lot of new arrivals to the country, we had the war with Ukraine that brought a lot of people in, we have the Middle East.”
The group is at the moment gearing up for considered one of its essential fundraising campaigns of the yr.
Referred to as ‘Your Hour, Her Power, the campaign runs all of March and coincides with International Women’s Day.
“We call on the general public to donate one hour of their salary or any amount they are comfortable with to help a woman in our community reach her employment and financial goals,” Stevenson stated.
Cash donated will assist help ladies like Shaloodegi, considered one of about 300 anticipated to hunt out companies in 2025.
“They give you that opportunity to hear you, to see you and to give you that self esteem that OK, you can do it,” Shaloodegi stated.
To get extra info or to donate, you possibly can go to the Costume for Success Web site.
The group additionally accepts gently-used enterprise apparel at its workplace at 1272 St. Paul St.
