Partnering with Dress for Success to empower women to achieve their dreams

Community News

May 10, 2023

St. Paul Park employee volunteers Joshua Larson, Gerald Szitta, Amuna Kenyi, Amy Fischer, Ryan Mackey, Lindsay George and Sydney Brown outside of Dress for Success Twin Cities WEARhouse with the donations collected by employees from the refinery.

The women’s employee network at Marathon Petroleum’s St. Paul Park refinery is working with Dress for Success to support and empower women.
More than a half-dozen employees volunteered at the Dress for Success Twin Cities WEARhouse to support the non-profit organization.
Employees organized donations and assembled Confidence Kits designed for women to use for job interviews.

The women’s employee network at Marathon Petroleum’s St. Paul Park refinery in Minnesota recently worked together to create clothing kits for women supported by Dress for Success Twin Cities. The local chapter of the global non-profit organization empowers women by giving them the tools and resources they need to thrive in their professional lives.

“Being able to support women in the community by designing clothing kits for their upcoming interviews was an awesome experience,” said Sydney Brown, a Tech Services Engineer at the refinery and co-lead for the local women’s employee network. “Thinking back to previous interviews I have done, feeling confident in your professional attire, in my opinion, plays a major role in how mentally confident you are in the interview.”

St. Paul Park refinery employee volunteers inside the nonprofit’s WEARhouse in St. Paul. (Front row) Amy Fischer (left), Lindsay George (right); (Back row) Joshua Larson, Ryan Mackey, Amuna Kenyi, Sydney Brown and Gerald Szitta

Brown was one of the Marathon Petroleum employees to volunteer at the nonprofit’s WEARhouse located in St. Paul. They helped sort and hang clothing donations, assembled clothing racks and shelves, and put together Confidence Kits that are designed to fit women’s wish list and needs for future interviews. The kit typically includes items like dresses and coats, one to two pairs of shoes, a purse or laptop case, as well as accessories like jewelry, belts and scarves.

Amuna Kenyi helps organize donations at Dress for Success Twin Cities.

“I really enjoyed building a Confidence Kit for a local woman,” said Lindsay George, a Refining Engineer at the refinery and member of the women’s employee network. “It was so much fun shopping through the Dress for Success WEARhouse, putting together a professional wardrobe that will surely help boost the confidence of the recipient as she begins her job hunt.”

In addition to providing professional attire for its clients, Dress for Success Twin Cities also provides programming for women to develop workplace skills to achieve career advancement, career stability and economic sustainability.

Employee volunteers help assemble donated items, including clothing racks and other furniture pieces.

“Our purpose is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty,” said Anna Beech, Development Director, Dress for Success Twin Cities. “We greatly appreciate our partnership with Marathon, as our combined goal is to encourage women to chase their dreams in any field they desire.”

Earlier this year, Marathon also made a $5,000 donation to Dress for Success Twin Cities emPower Her health and wellness initiative, which includes a virtual 5K from anywhere event in July. Participants can attend the event in person or participate virtually.