Walton College Alumni Society Supports Career Closet

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Job-seeking business students have a bigger choice of suits, ties, shirts, pants and other items at the Career Closet this fall thanks to the Walton College Alumni Society board adopting it as their annual service project.

The Career Closet opened two years ago in the George W. Edwards, Jr. Career Center at the Sam M. Walton College of Business as a resource for upscale, gently used business casual and professional clothing and accessories.

At their spring meeting, the Walton College Alumni Society board identified a need to connect with students and make a difference in the community and, as a result, adopted the Career Closet as their annual service project.

Items are free of charge to Walton College students. Those items help students dress the part for interviews, career fairs, office visits or job duties. Current Walton College students can visit the closet and take up to four individual apparel items per semester or one suit during an academic year. Leadership Walton participants serve as Career Closet staff. To date, over 2,370 items have been donated to the closet and over 250 Walton College students have received more than 1,000 articles of clothing.

Prior to their fall meeting, Walton College Alumni Society board members dug through their closets and found items that were in good condition to donate. One board member even bought new suits from an upscale retailer just for the closet. “Board members will continue to solicit clothing from their own closets, friends and co-workers during the year for donation to the Career Closet at our next meeting in April,” board president Tim Higginbotham said. “Additionally, networking, resume review and mock interview sessions with current students will take place and allow the WCAS board of directors to further connect and serve the Walton College family.”

The greatest needs of the Career Closet continue to be men’s suits (particularly in waist sizes of 30-34 inches and pants with a length of 32 inches and longer), men’s ties, men’s dress shirts (preferably medium and large sizes), women’s basic suits, women’s blouses and shirts and women’s accessories. Anyone interested in making clothing or financial donations to the Career Closet can contact Sara Yell at syell2@walton.uark.edu.