In partnership with the Wish Project, Middlesex Community College will host a professional clothing pop-up shop for students in the Spring 2025 semester. Ahead of the shop, Middlesex will run clothing drives on both campuses from January 13 to January 31. Providing access to professional work clothes supports MCC’s strategic plan that includes designing an economically sustainable institution.
“I am thrilled to work with my talented colleagues to bring MCC’s strategic plan to life,” said Allison Chambers, MCC’s Vice President of Finance & Chief Financial Officer. “Our team is focused on promoting an ethic of resource conservation, sustainability, and social justice on our campuses. With the student experience at the core of what we do, this idea blossomed out of a brainstorm and quickly gained steam. An opportunity to pair sustainability with outfitting our wonderful students to be interview and workforce ready at no cost to them feels like a win-win. We are hoping to find much success with this pop-up shop and eventually create something more permanent with the proper resources and additional partnerships in place.”
The clothing drives and pop-up shop are led by a sub-committee team on the college’s Strategic Leadership Council. The goal is to empower students to feel more confident and comfortable as they proceed into an internship or the workforce.
MCC is partnering with the Wish Project to ensure the college collects clean professional clothing for students. This initiative helps students have more successful interviews and work experiences.
“The Wish Project collects gently used clothing from thousands of local donors that we re-distribute to tens of thousands of families in the Lowell and Lawrence area who need them,” said Priscila Keliher, Executive Director of the Wish Project. “We are so happy to be working with MCC to provide ‘interview clothing’ for their students who will be entering the job market after graduation. Everyone wins when nice clothing finds a second home and we wish every student all the best!”
MCC is asking for professional clothing such as blazers and sport jackets, blouses and sweaters, dress shirts and pants, dresses and skirts, and dress shoes. The college asks for clothes that are recently washed; lightly used; free of stains, holes or tears; are in current styles within the past few years; and appropriate for a variety of settings.
During the clothing drives, MCC will have drop-off locations in the lobby of the Lowell Cowan Center and on Main Street on the Bedford Campus. Middlesex also has an Amazon wish list for uncollectable items, such as undershirts, socks, belts, etc.
“At MCC, we have many hard-working students who are struggling with basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, childcare, medical bills, utilities and clothing,” said Jonathan Crockett, MCC’s Coordinator of Essential Needs and Community Resources. “The clothing drive is a terrific way to help provide free, professional clothing for students, while also engaging the campus community in a shared, beneficial initiative. Whenever a student can save a little money in one area of their life, it creates a little more financial freedom and removes another layer of financial stress. Professional clothing can be a big expense, so we are grateful to MCC employees and students who are able to help out by donating items to this collection.”
For more information about MCC’s upcoming clothing drives and pop-up shop, contact Noreen Fantasia, MCC’s Coordinator for the Office of Career Integrated Learning.