Grant allows WVU School of Public Health to launch career closet

The West Virginia University School of Public Health has been awarded a mini grant by Volunteer West Virginia to launch Broad Street Threads, a career closet for its students.

Led by Gamma Mu, the WVU chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, students and faculty recognized a need for affordable and accessible professional attire that can be worn to interviews, conferences and campus career fairs. To meet students’ needs, the organization created Broad Street Threads, a career closet located on campus for Public Health students to access resources that help them promote themselves in a professional way.

To launch the closet, current leadership members of the organization applied for a mini grant through Volunteer West Virginia, a statewide agency that provides support to strengthen West Virginia’s nonprofits and volunteer programs. Broad Street Threads was awarded the mini grant which was used to purchase a hanging rack, hangers, garment bags and plastic bins for clothing. The closet is filled with new or gently used professional clothing donations from faculty, staff, students and community members.

“We are so grateful to have received this mini grant from Volunteer West Virginia and for their support in this project,” Haley Cothern, president of Gamma Mu and a student in the Master of Health Administration program, said. “By implementing this initiative, students will feel more confident and empowered in a professional setting, without the financial burden.”

Students visiting the closet can select three to four professional wear items per semester that they can keep free of charge.

Students interested in donating to the closet can receive community service hours via iServe. All donations can be deposited in plastic bins outside the School of Public Health Student Lounge located in HSC-South Room 3830. For more information, contact Elizabeth Claydon, Gamma Mu faculty adviser.