I went to a cocktail party for Dress for Success yesterday,
http://www.dressforsuccess.org.
It's a group that provides suits for poor women who are going on job interviews and a whole week's worth of office clothes once they get the job, as well as job training and support. They just opened a new office in Mercer County, N.J. They showed a very touching video of women who have been helped by the group and they convinced me it's really a good way to help women. Some 20 percent of women in Mercer County, N.J. are poor so God knows anyone can offer help is doing something worthwhile. I don't know that it addresses the root causes of poverty but what organization does? Before we left, they asked us to donate or volunteer and I would like to do some volunteering and send some money although where I'll find the time or the money, I'm not sure.
But here I am at a cocktail party and I realized once again that I haven't been out in theworld much since having kids. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never been to a cocktail party. I asked my friends if having margaritas at a local park counts but I'm pretty sure that doesn't qualify as a cocktail party. I also realized that I don't really have any power suits myself although I'm not sure I want them either. My friends and I huddled in a corner scarfing down horsdouevres and wine and chatting. We didn't network or work the room and we arrived back at home at 8 p.m. because we couldn't bring ourselves to go out late and I had more work to do. I ended up staying up late grading papers. I guess I'm not a party animal and I'm pretty sure I'm not a cocktail party animal.