This Christmas, the Women in Need Society (WINS) is aiming to give mothers a little bit of extra help with their Handbags with Heart campaign, which aims to connect new or gently used handbags to women without.
In addition to the handbag, each will be filled with essential items like grocery gift cards, deodorant, toiletries, and socks.
All of which gives WINS clients a handup in an increasingly difficult job market, and one that asks women to dress professionally, which can be expensive.
“We talk a lot about how to present for job interviews, and we teach them a lot of those skills, but they don’t have the means to go out and purchase those items,” said Samantha Schmidt, Programs Manager with WINS.
“This handbag goes a long way to be able to support their look for the interview, to give them that that chance that they need to secure that job.”
WINS, a social enterprise with eight thrift stores in Calgary, has seen a major jump in demand for its programming, including employment training.
Schmidt said that in 2024, there had been about a 40 per cent increase in that demand over 2023.
“We know that’s a big need in our city right now. We also do a lot of confidence building through our programming,” she said.
“We actually train women who are re-entering the workforce, and we support a lot of newcomers to enter the workforce and give them the confidence and the tools to be successful in the workforce.”
One of the organizations taking part in the campaign this year, is local public relations firm Parker PR.
Ellen Parker, the CEO of Parker PR, said that a simple thing like having a handbag can impact the way a woman feels about herself, and for her prospects of employment.
“When women go through hard times and they can’t necessarily afford the essential clothing items and handbags that they need, it really impacts self-esteem, and it impacts the feeling of empowerment when they’re going out and trying to rebuild their life,” Parker said.
“It can be very helpful and actually instrumental—like wearing a blazer gives us that confidence we feel like we’re in charge. Little things like this are so easy for us to help with, and can make such a difference in a woman’s life. It’s like the dressing for success idea.”
Parker said that she’s personally put out the call to over a thousand people she knows in the city, and is hoping in turn that there will be at least a hundred donations of handbags made to WINS.
“Of course, if we got thousands that would be excellent, because if they don’t get used over the holidays, they’ll be used for Mother’s Day and then throughout the year as well,” Parker said.
“As a woman myself who has a career and has children and volunteers and is on boards, it’s important to have a handbag.”
She said that if people want to donate bags in the Kensington area, they can do so directly at the Parker PR office, or handbags can be donated at any of the WINS thrift stores or WINS programming locations across Calgary.
For more details, see www.winsyyc.ca.
