Career Design Center Launches Annual Professional Clothing Drive

Erwin Hall at SUNY Geneseo, home of the Career Design Center
(SUNY Geneseo/Keith Walters)

SUNY Geneseo’s Career Design Center has launched its annual community-wide professional clothing drive, an initiative aimed at reducing barriers to professional success for Geneseo students.

The initiative is designed to support students who may not have access to professional attire or experience navigating professional dress expectations, says clothing drive co-organizer Brendan Fuhr, student employment coordinator and community outreach assistant.

The first professional clothing drive was held before the Spring 2025 Internship and Job Fair. Faculty, staff, and community members donated gently used and new professional attire, which was offered to students through a pop-up clothing space in the MacVittie Union Ballroom Lounge. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the clothing drive became an annual event.

During the pop-up, students are encouraged to try on clothing, ask questions, and receive informal guidance from staff. “When students walk away with clothes and then arrive the next day at the job fair wearing the outfit they chose, it was clear this was working,” says Fuhr. 

“The best part for me was students saying, ‘Does this look good? Should I wear this?’ and being able to help students in that way,” says co-organizer Cori Quinn, career coach for the School of Arts and Sciences and coordinator for Diversity and Equity,

Fuhr and Quinn are accepting donations from February 23 through March 16. Donors should bring clean, gently used, or new professional clothing (free of rips, stains, or tears) to Erwin 116, or contact Quinn directly to arrange an earlier pickup.

The professional clothing pop-up will take place on March 25 in the Ballroom Lounge, ahead of the Internship and Job Fair on March 26, as part of Knight’s Bootcamp. Running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the bootcamp will feature stations on professional dress, resume polishing, elevator pitches, and other career-readiness skills to help students prepare for the fair.