Dress for Success holds ‘Diamonds Downtown’ fundraiser

WILKES-BARRE — Dress for Success Luzerne County held its “Diamonds Downtown” fundraiser at the Westmoreland Club, featuring sparkling jewels in champagne glasses.

Well, actually, there was only one diamond — valued at about $5,000 — in the glass of a single lucky guest.

But the evening was about more than precious stones. The fundraiser supported Dress for Success’ goal of assisting women who are trying to reenter the workforce.

“Our mission is to empower women to achieve economic independence,” said Linda Loop, the CEO and founder of Dress for Success Luzerne County. “We provide a network of support, career development tools, and some great clothing. So anytime a woman is ready to go back into the workforce, she comes to us and we give her that last little bit of what she needs to build her self-esteem.”

Loop said that women must consider the unique challenges that come with reentering the workforce, some of which are not applicable to men in a comparable situation. Child care, a healthy work-life balance, taking care of parents, and raising children are just a few of the considerations women must make when they are looking for work. When they do find a position, Loop said that women are often held to a higher standard.

Loop referred to the women who take on these challenges as “the real diamonds of the Diamond City,” referring to Wilkes-Barre’s long-held nickname.

Speaking of diamonds, the precious stones did play a central role during Thursday night’s bash.

Each person in attendance was given a glass of champagne and, as noted, all but one of the glasses contained a fake diamond. The true diamond was donated by Simon & Co. Jewelers, Kingston.

Each of the guests with a “diamond” paid a visit to the table of Emile Zafrany, the CEO of Simon & Co., who was able to identify the true diamond in the bunch. After some testing, Zafrany determined that the diamond found at the bottom of Joyce Iorio’s glass was the authentic jewel.

Thursday night’s fundraiser was attended by a “who’s who” of Wyoming Valley personalities, from business owners to television personalities. Katrina Wallace, the event’s chairperson and Dress for Success Luzerne County’s vice-chair, said the turnout is a reflection of the fundraiser’s broad support in the region.

“Dress for Success is so widely known in our area, and all different types of people like to support it,” Wallace said of the crowd, adding, “I think that’s why you get all of the best people, because it’s such a great cause…”

That great cause will be clear to an even larger audience soon. The big news discussed on Thursday night was Dress for Success Luzerne County’s formal expansion into the Hazleton area, which will include a ribbon cutting ceremony next month on Oct. 10.