Goodwill dresses veterans for success

Steve Pitt browses through suit jackets in hopes of a size that will fit his broad shoulders. The Navy veteran finished his time in the Armed Forces in 1976.

He has taken a free jobs workshop hosted by Goodwill Manasota and Chase Bank and now hopes to find an outfit at Goodwill’s Dress for Success event that took place this morning.

Veterans received suits, dress shirts, ties, belts and shoes free of charge to use in job interviews and on the job.

He hopes to look presentable to future employers as he searches for a job as a licensed practical nurse.

“Goodwill is very supportive in a psychological and emotional standpoint to people who are lost and out of the loop in society,” Pitt says. “To have an organization tell you let me help you get back in the game, it shows caring, which is very important to people who don’t have a place to go.”

Wealth adviser with Northern Trust and Navy veteran Mitch Helton and Linda Gould of The Patterson Foundation Legacy of Valor were on hand to help the veterans choose outfits.

Goodwill Manasota encourages veterans to wear their suits to the Veterans and their Families Jobs Services Fair that is set to take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Ed Smith Stadium.

Contact Yaryna Klimchak at [email protected].