ALBERTVILLE, Ala. (ABP) — For Jean Cullen, the national coordinator of the Christian Women's Job Corps, success starts on the inside — and must be reflected on the outside as well.
Cullen, who heads the national organization aimed at teaching life and employment skills to under-educated women, has taken that approach literally, this time by sponsoring fashion shows at local churches in order to teach women how to dress for success.
The concept is an old one — that to be successful in business, one must dress the part — but Cullen adds a twist to it. At a recent show at First Baptist Church in Albertville, Ala., many of the models were showing more than clothes. According to Cullen, they also displayed the beautiful effect a new relationship with Christ can have on a life that has reached the end of its rope.
“Christian Women's Job Corps is a ministry that recognizes that a change in a person's circumstances can happen in their head through developing skills and through their heart by coming to know who God is and that they are loved and they have a purpose,” said Cullen, who served as master of ceremonies for the fashion show. She said there are 148 Christian Women Job Corps sites nationally, with 11 in Alabama.
Although nationally the Christian Women's Job Corps sites are connected through Woman's Missionary Union, each one is responsible for raising its own funds, according to Linda Henry, the Alabama state coordinator.
“We ask the women modeling to come up with a complete outfit for $15 and then model along with the participants,” Henry said. The outfits are then auctioned to the highest bidders.
Women and children of all shapes and sizes took part in the event, modeling affordable, conservative fashions. It was the fourth annual show, which corresponded closely with some of the Christian Women's Job Corps class curriculum.
“One of the classes we teach is called personal discovery,” Henry said. “We teach that beauty is on the inside and teach them how to dress for interviews and color coordination and accessorizing.”
Each student from that class received tickets to the fashion show so they could see ideas for dressing for interviews and church, as well as casual and formal wear.
Rosalie Hunt, president of Alabama Woman's Missionary Union and one of the event's models, said the job corps participants who modeled and shared their testimonies exhibited the difference the program makes. The Women's Missionary Union started the job corps group in 1997.
The first show was held in 2002 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Albertville, Ala., and raised more than $2,000 for the program, Henry said. This year, the show raised $10,022.50, exceeding its goal of $10,000 and setting a new record.
“I think it is an awesome outpouring of the community coming together,” said Rená Strange, a job corps site coordinator. “You can see the body of Christ coming together in it and working together.”
Each year, Henry said, the money raised has been just enough to cover expenses for the following year.
Other job corps sites have taken the fashion show idea and put their own spin on it. According to site coordinator Dianne Lowe, this year's organizers invited vendors to the April 8 fashion show at MeadowBrook Baptist Church in Gadsden, Ala. By charging a vendor fee in addition to selling tickets to the show, the site raised $1,300 — about a $300 increase over last year, Lowe said.
“The thing that makes us different is we require every person to be involved in Bible study, and each person is paired with a mentor who supports that person,” Cullen added.
A mentor may help a participant with setting a budget and goals, Bible study, personal development, family relationships and transport to church. They commit to spending one hour a week for a year with participants.
— Based on reporting by the Alabama Baptist newsjournal.