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501© 3 non-profit organization

 
 

 

Jackets for Jobs, TM Michigan WORKS! Affiliate
5555 Conner Suite 2097
Detroit, MI 48213
Phone:(313) 579-9160
FAX:(313) 579-9180

 

ABOUT ALISON

 

 Keynote Speaker Alison Vaughn is
Inspiring Audiences to Look and Feel Their Best at Any Age
with Her Signature Presentation:


“Find Your Signature Style and Rise Up to Meet Your Goals:
Practical Ways to Stand Out, Shine and Make a Difference Now.”


Alison is a professional speaker and co-author of the the book, Inspired Style. Her speaking credentials, style tips and more are available on her website www.sexyandageless.com

 

 

Author & Entrepreneur

A decade of making a difference in the community.

Alison Vaughn is an award-winning entrepreneur and co-author of the book, Inspired Style. This sought-after speaker is the Founder & CEO of Jackets for Jobs, Inc., which is a nonprofit organization that provides employment etiquette, career skills training and professional clothes to low-income individuals. Since opening the doors in 2000, the organization has assisted over 11,000 individuals with employment. This high profile organization has been supported and applauded by Donald Trump, ABC's "The View", NBC's "Today Show", and Oprah's O Magazine. A highlight of her career was the distinct honor of ringing the closing bell on NASDAQ. The organization is proud to have a partnership and be the charitable arm to TJ Maxx.  

Alison is the 2011 Co-Chair of the 56th Annual Detroit NAACP Fight for Freedom Dinner. (Largest sit down dinner in the country) 10,000 people attend annually. The dinner is known for its distinguished keynote speakers; Pres Barack Obama, Pres Bill Clinton, Hon Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell and Danny Glover just to name a few.

Vaughn is proud to be one of the co-authors of the book, Inspired Style, she and other Top Image experts reveal strategies to always look and be your best. Inspired Style is the key ingredient to helping you understand and define your personal style, which is so much more than clothes and fashion.

Alison received a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University and graduated from The Women's Campaign School at Yale University, sponsored by Yale Law School. She is active with the NAACP and was a candidate for the 2006 Michigan State Senate.

Vaughn is one of Martha Stewarts “Dreamers into Doers”, in which Martha Stewart celebrates the passion of Women who turn their dreams into reality and Women Who Do.

She was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Alabama A & M University; “Businesswoman of the Year” by National Association of Negro & Professional Business Women, honored as a Women of Excellence by the Michigan Chronicle, Recipient of “Leaders, Legends & Luminaries” award from Lakeshore Engineering, Listed in the Who's Who of Black Detroit for three years and Who’s Who among Female Executives., She is a recipient of the “Community Service Award” from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is a member of Association of Image Consultants International (AICI), Distinguished Women in International Service, Top Ladies of Distinction, Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Eureka Communities Fellow, Michigan State University Graduate Alumni member, NAACP,

The National Association of Female Executives, Women Impacting Public Policy and a member of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. She is a contributing writer in the Michigan Chronicle & Michigan Front Page on Image & Style.

Alison is a former flight attendant and model. Miss America Petite Pageant contestant, Jet Magazine Beauty, Auto Show model, former Judge in the Miss Teen Detroit and a High School Homecoming Queen.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading and attending sporting events. She is a loyal Detroit Lions season ticket holder and a member of Word of Faith International Christian Center.



“What you do for others, God will do for you.”

-- Alison Vaughn

 


 

Engage Alison Vaughn for Your Next Event

To engage Alison and discuss quantity purchases of Inspired Style for your next big event, get in touch by phone at 313-579-9160 or by email at avaughn@sexyandageless.com.

 

 

AOL Black Voices: The Good News for 2005-05-24 15:48:11

For the first time in years, Denia Addison was getting off the welfare roll to join the workforce. But first she needed a few outfits to interview in, so she went to Jackets for Jobs Inc., a Detroit nonprofit agency.

She was a little self-conscious at first, having been to agencies like the Salvation Army before. But as soon as she arrived, she knew it was going to be different.

"I got there and a woman showed me the main room," recalled Addison, 39, a mother of three. "She talked to me and told me they didn't take this lightly, that the people they assisted were really serious."

It was then that she realized that Jacket for Jobs was not just a place to get clothes. This was a place where she felt like she mattered, where people showed they were interested in her and what she was trying to do. That is exactly what the founder Alison Vaughn had hoped when she founded Jackets for Jobs. She wanted to create a pleasant experience for women who could use a little sisterly encouragement -- and clothes to wear on interviews or to new jobs. Vaughn, a flight attendant and seasoned volunteer, started the program in memory of her sister.

"God is my CEO. My sister is my guardian angel," said Vaughn, who in almost five years has provided clothes to more than 2,000 Detroit women.

She and her sister Cheryl, who were raised by their mothers, didn't see each other for 20 years after their father died. When they reunited, Vaughn said, her sister was dying of cancer. "Six months later she passed away," she said.

It wasn't until she was going through Cheryl's papers to help with funeral arrangements that she discovered that her sister was on welfare. "When I realized this, I wanted to do something for welfare mothers," she said. So she came up with the idea for Jackets for Jobs. "I talked with a minister and told him what I was doing and he had some space in a church," she said. "We started there."

For two years, the Vaughn ran the agency out of the church. Word spread, people donated clothes and money, and women who needed the clothes showed up. Her first clients were a group of 15 women from an agency across the street from the church. She remembers that they all walked over together and all left with new clothes.

"It was a good feeling," Vaughn remembered. "I was thinking: Wow, I'm really helping someone. These ladies have no clothing for a job interview. They have no resources and I'm able to provide resources to help them get on their feet."

Eventually Vaughn formed a nonprofit organization so her program could get grants and special funding. She moved Jackets for Jobs into a larger space in The Samaritan Center, a one-stop social services location in a needy Detroit neighborhood, she said.

Alison Vaughn

This year the program expanded to serve men. Derrick Coleman of the Detroit Pistons donated $50,000 in clothes to jumpstart the effort. Then in April NBC's 'Today' chose Jackets for Jobs for its 'Lend a Hand' segment. The show's weatherman Al Roker personally delivered $50,000 in clothes and other items donated by Sears along with a Toyota minivan.
"It was nothing but the Lord," offered Vaughn. "I didn't go to them; they came to me."
In the room where the women pick out new clothes to wear on job interviews, Vaughn has a plaque hanging in memory of the sister she barely knew. On her desk, she keeps her sister's photo and obituary.
Now Vaughn, once a lone volunteer, has a staff of four part-time employees, a league of volunteers and, of course, her sister. "My guardian angel sits on my shoulder," she said.
2005-05-24 15:48:11