Help CAALA Help Others: Clean out your Closet with Clothes the Deal

January 4th, 2011. By BrendaC

LawyersandSettlements.com has a new column that looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking about the annual Business Clothes Drive by Clothes the Deal, which is supported by many Los Angeles area law firms…

Suit by Gieves and Hawkes

The Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) is among the many volunteers behind an important organization that has helped thousands of Americans get back into the job market. Since 1995, Clothes the Deal (CTD) has gathered high-quality business clothing and accessories that are then given to job hunters who may not otherwise have the resources to afford a new “interview suit”. 

CAALA is the final homerun phase of its annual clothing drive for Clothes the Deal. Last year alone, CTD distributed 15,000 pieces of business clothing to over 6,000 job seekers in California alone. 

Clothes the Deal was the brainchild of Ann Gusiff who wrote the The Deal’s first business plan as part of an MBA Thesis in Chicago in 1995. Two years later in 1997, Clothes The Deal was recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. 

The organization, which also helps job seekers learn to dress for success, established an important partnership in 1998 with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). Clothes The Deal moved their operations out of the garage it had been using and into a space at LACOE’s facility in Downey, California. 

Volunteers who gather from organizations like CAALA are critical to the success of Clothes the Deal. 

“With the rise in unemployment and the decrease in funding, we have had to brainstorm ideas of how to fundraise to help those in need of our services,” says CTD president, Deborah Brusavich. “We soon realized how many people are willing to donate their time to help our organization thrive during a time of such uncertainty.” 

Law firms generate thousands of pieces of business clothing for Clothes the Deal. In 2010, the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles and 30 individual law firms such as Agnew Brusavich, Esner Chang and Todd Bloomfield LLP hosted clothing drives for CTD or provided drop-off spots. 

Last spring, the Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker law firm pitched in and ran a successful two-week clothing drive for CTD. The firm was so impressed with the work that Clothes the Deal does that it offered a number of pro bono services to CTD. 

“We are really grateful to the work Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker is doing on our behalf and proud to be one of their charitable causes,” says Brusavich. “We are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship.”

The current CTD Business Wear Drive ends tomorrow, January 5, 2011–but there is still time to drop off your donation at the following locations: 

Girardi and Keese, 1126 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90017

Law Office of Lisa Maki, 1111 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 101, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Rice and Bloomfield,LLP, 5550 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Suite 200, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

The Cochran Firm, 4929 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1010, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Greene, Broillet & Wheeler, 100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 21, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Cheong, Denove, Rowell & Bennett, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067

Esner and Chang, 234 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 750, Pasadena, CA 91101

Tim Ryan and Associates, 8072 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Law Offices of C. Michael Alder, 9308 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

AgnewBrusavich, 20355 Hawthorne Blvd. 2nd Floor, Torrance, CA 90503

Chapman, Glucksman, Dean, Rober & Barger, 11900 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 800, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Dimarco, Arujo & Montevideo, 1324 North Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92706

Clothes The Deal is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that assist men, women, and at-risk youth in transition, empowering them to interview with confidence, gain employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Tags: CAALA, Clothes the Deal, Deborah Brusavich, Lawyers Giving Back

This was posted on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.