Parolees who land job interviews won’t necessarily have to face empty closets, thanks to the Suits 4 Success program that kicked off Thursday evening.

About 25 members of the Washtenaw County Bar Association stopped by the Heidelberg in downtown Ann Arbor for the program’s happy hour drop-off event. They brought along suit bags containing professional attire or left cash donations. 

Joy Gaines, left, and Delphia Simpson examine some of the donated apparel at Thursday's Suits 4 Success drop-off. Ronald Ahrens | For AnnArbor.com

Organizers had asked for new or near-new clothes that are in-style and appropriate for interviews.

“I think we’re off to a great start,” said Joy Gaines, an attorney with the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office who led the effort. She said she pursued the idea because “one less barrier (for parolees) could make a difference.”

Gaines approached officials with the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative at the state’s Department of Corrections about collaborating on the clothing drive.

Megan McKinley, an MPRI workforce development specialist, said the idea and the agency’s goals dove-tailed. The agency offers parolees six-month-long professional development workshops that emphasize resume writing, computer training and mock interviews.

“As a reward, we want them to have some professional clothing to go out in when they’re looking for jobs,” McKinley said. “They just need to have some confidence so they can approach employers, because they already feel so bad about themselves.”

She said the MPRI’s Job Tryout and Training program places parolees for one month of on-the-job training with businesses, but the agency remains the employer of record.

Parolees currently receive vouchers to shop at secondhand clothing stores, but may find slim pickings. The Suits 4 Success program will establish a clothing closet at the Washtenaw County Community Support and Treatment Services office in Ypsilanti.

“We just wanted a more streamlined way to ensure that people are getting the clothes they need.”

One attorney who stopped by the drop-off party was Atleen Kaur, a member of the commercial litigation department at Miller Canfield. She donated a pantsuit, the color of which she described as “greenish.”

Megan McKinley, left, and Atleen Kaur say good-bye to Kaur's suit.

“I had it in my closet and was in the process of cleaning out the closets generally and heard about the event,” Kaur said.

Organizers estimated the donations were running about 50-50 between men’s and women’s apparel. Cash pledges - as little as $5 for a pair of socks or $60 for a blazer - came in at $50.

Elizabeth Jolliffe, who spent 19 years as an attorney before becoming a consultant, received notice of the drop-off party through the bar association. She brought in two spring suits and one pantsuit.

“It would be fun to say I needed room in my closet so I could go to the mall again, but it’s not true,” she said. “Actually, I have a couple of really cute suits that somebody ought to be wearing because, since I work by phone, I don’t have to get dressed up any more.”

Ronald Ahrens is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.