Friday, March 13, 2009

Project PINSTRIPE to Host Fourth Annual Event to Outfit and Educate Disadvantaged Youth

Atlanta
Morehouse College
830 Westview Drive S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30314
March 14 at Noon

/PRNewswire/ -- Project PINSTRIPE, a not-for-profit organization devoted to building a positive self-image for disadvantaged young adults by providing properly-fitted business attire and career education, will host its fourth annual one-day event on March 14, 2009 at 12:00pm local time. This year the event expands to Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville, adding to existing events in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Miami.

Since its founding in New York in 2005, Project PINSTRIPE has grown from 50 participants in New York to 450 participants nationally with annual events in eight cities around the country. The organization outfits underprivileged high school and college-aged men with lightly-used designer suits donated by generous business professionals. The organization also provides education on the importance of a positive first impression, as well as essential interview and job skills.

The 450 Project PINSTRIPE participants around the country, aged 17 to 24, are members of PINSTRIPE partner organizations, which include Year Up and Prep for Prep in New York City; Hands On Atlanta and Boys & Girls of Metro Atlanta; Year Up in Boston; the Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund; the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago; the Detroit Youth Foundation; the Boys & Girls Club of Miami; and Franktown Open Hearts and Y-Build in Nashville. Participants who are selected by partner organizations will be interviewing for their first internship or job, or have specifically expressed an interest in pursuing a career in professional services.

"Project PINSTRIPE has given me so many great opportunities. Being young, it's often hard to be taken seriously in a corporate setting. The suits I've been given help me project confidence and give me a much better self-image," said Daniel Meighan, a Prep for Prep and Project PINSTRIPE participant. "I know that I have the skills and know-how to succeed, and Project PINSTRIPE helps to display my qualities in the clothes that I wear."

Viktoria Horvath, founder of Project PINSTRIPE, commented, "We are very proud to announce Project PINSTRIPE's 2009 event, which continues to expand to new cities and touch more and more talented young men every year. We are especially grateful to our sponsors and partners for their generous support, and to the many business professionals who continue to donate to this important cause. Amid an extremely challenging economic and job environment, the need for professional clothes and career services for our participants is greater than ever, and ongoing support from all our partners has been critical to our success."

"Project PINSTRIPE has been an immensely useful resource for me. It armed me with the one tool critical for my success: self-confidence," said Prep for Prep and Project PINSTRIPE participant Anthony Anderson. "In a competitive world where first impressions can make or break future opportunities, Project PINSTRIPE has enabled me, and countless other financially or socially disadvantaged students like myself, to maximize my personal potential and put my best foot forward, each and every time."

In each host city, the highlight of the event will be a suit fitting during which each participant will choose from a wide array of donated suits and receive alterations by a professional clothier from the Tom James Company. Participants will also be given all the necessary accessories to complete their tailored look, including dress shoes donated by Florsheim and Soles4Souls, and leather goods provided by Trafalgar. The event will also include educational workshops on interview techniques and proper etiquette, including how to properly wear and maintain their new professional business attire.

In New York City, the event will begin with a lunch reception for this year's PINSTRIPE participants provided by the Original SoupMan and featuring a performance by Impact Repertory, a not-for-profit theatre company that uses performing arts and the dynamics of leadership training to develop and empower youth.

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