Jackets for Jobs, Inc.Michigan WORKS! Affiliate

Alison Vaughn 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 7,000 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.

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.

Alison is listed in the Who's Who of Black Detroit and Who’s Who among Female Executives. She was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” 2007 by Alabama A & M University; She is a recipient of the “Community Service Award” from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is an active member of several organizations: She is a member of Distinguished Women in International Service, Top Ladies of Distinction, an active member of American Businesswomen’s Association (Ambassador Tri-County Chapter), 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.

Alison is a former 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 attending church, 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.

Alison's Story - How she got started

Before starting Jackets for Jobs, Inc; Vaughn was employed with United Airlines for 15 years As a Flight Attendant Employment Representative and a flight attendant. After the tragedy of September 11th of 2001, she took a leave of absence and then resigned to put all of her energy into Jackets for Jobs, Inc.

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