​

Dauchess, A. (2025, February 24). New career closet provides free clothing, interview training to prepare students for the workforce. Marymount University. 

https://marymount.edu/blog/new-career-closet-provides-free-clothing-interview-training-to-prepare-students-for-the-workforce/ 

 

ABSTRACT: Marymount's career closet is a resource for students who need professional attire for career related events. The program offers free clothing donated by staff, and community members. The career closet ensures that regardless of a student's financial status or background, they have the opportunity to dress professionally, boosting their confidence, and getting them prepared for the workforce.

 

TEAM NOTES: Like Hire Attire, Marymount's Career closet offers students access to free clothing through donations. One key takeaway is how the program highlights accessibility and the fact that it offers practice interview skills as well. It gives students an easy to access space, this could also be useful when improving the hire attire closet. Retrieved from New Career Closet provides free clothing, interview training to prepare students for the workforce | Marymount University 

 

–

 

Deck, K. (2016, November 22). A Professional Organizer’s Guide to organizing a wardrobe. The Focal Point. 

https://www.qcdesignschool.com/blog/2016/11/professional-organizers-guide-organizing-wardrobe

 

ABSTRACT: Professional organization transcends mere tidiness; it’s aimed at fostering a lifestyle of comfort and ease for clients. By eliminating stressful clutter, professional organizers help clients focus on their mental well-being, creating peaceful spaces for daily routines. The guide offers tips on efficiently organizing wardrobes, addressing issues like clutter, space, and unused items to transform any closet into a welcoming, functional area. Key strategies include deciding what to hang or fold, sorting clothing by color for visual appeal and ease of access and using standing laundry hampers to maintain cleanliness and order.

 

TEAM NOTES: This article is an internet source. This article talks about the importance of organizing clothes so that a client can find them easier. It talks about the importance of organizing certain items by certain rules, while our issue is how to organize the space for a better flow, we could use this article to help organize the clothes for other students.

 

– 

​

Dolnicar, S., & Lazarevski, K. (2009). Marketing in non-profit organizations: An international perspective. International Marketing Review, 26(3), 275-291.    

doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330910960780

​

ABSTRACT: Nonprofits relying on purely outside donations makes the need for proper marketing a massive one for the business to exist at all. The need for them to adapt business type strategies has been clear in recent years. Often nonprofits lose sight of this and go with an organization-based strategy, in which they believe their services don’t need to be marketed, as they’re needed by the market. This is often due to the general misconception of what marketing is, many view marketing as selling and promotion and is used to sell things people do not need, rather than simply making it known their services exist to a wider audience.

​

TEAM NOTES:  This source is useful as it provides an insight into the type of business strategies that should be used by a nonprofit organization and how they should operate in the market. “In their recommendations for strategic marketing for non-profits, [3] Andreasen and Kotler (2003, p. 49) emphasize the adoption of a marketing mindset, termed a "customer-centered" mindset, which focuses on understanding the customers' needs, wants and perceptions, as opposed to an "organization-centered" mindset.”.

​

–

 

Dopson, E. (2022, February 3). Retail Stockroom Organization: How to find inventory fast (2023).

Shopify. https://www.shopify.com/retail/stockroom-organization  

 

ABSTRACT: A retail stockroom is a crucial area of any brick-and-mortar store, serving as the storage space for inventory before it reaches the sales floor. Proper organization of this space is essential for store efficiency, impacting customer service speed, accurate inventory counts, and product security. While customers don’t see the stockroom, its layout can significantly influence the overall shopping experience. The guide provides insights into effectively organizing a retail stockroom to enhance store operations and create a more enjoyable work environment for retail associates.

  

TEAM NOTES:  This article is an internet source. It shows the importance of space and how essential it is for efficiency. Our client had mentioned how they have had a hard time keeping track of inventory and I believe this is the best fit for them. It specifically talks about a retail room.

 

–

​

Donate stuff. Goodwill Industries International. (2025, February 12).

https://www.goodwill.org/donors/donate-stuff/

​

ABSTRACT: Goodwill industries provides a guide on how to manage and organize donations. Also offers tips on how to engage volunteers by getting them to help with the sorting process. Emphasizes community involvement.

​

TEAM NOTES: Offers a guide on how to manage, organize, and maintain donations. Tips on sorting and organizing might help hire attire to improve its closet making it more accessible for students in need. 

​

Retrieved from 

Donate Stuff - Goodwill Industries International

​

–

​

California State University,Northridge.(2025, February 25). Matty’s Closet.

w2.csun.edu/career/students/mattys-closet. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

​

ABSTRACT: Matty’s Closet is a free professional attire program offered by California State University, Northridge, through their career center. The program provides students with access to used business attire for interviews, or career fairs. These clothes are provided for students without any costs. This program relies on donations from faculty, staff, and community members. Matty’s closet helps support kids getting them ready for the workforce.

​

TEAM NOTES: This source is important because it provides insight into how a university-run clothing closet works. Just like the Hire-Attire program, Mattys closet focuses on helping students gain access to professional clothing for career related events. From looking into this website one key takeaway is the importance of donations and community involvement. Matty’s closet has a page dedicated to showing how people could donate.This program also highlights their purpose. This information could be useful in improving strategies for Hire-Attire. Retrieved from Matty's Closet | CSU Northridge

​

–

​

Mellicia. (2016, April 19). How to host a clothing swap for charity. How to Host a Clothing Swap for Charity. 

https://www.poplinstyle.com/blog/2016/04/19/2015-11-30-how-to-host-a-clothing-swap-for-charity?format=amp

​

ABSTRACT: The essential steps for organizing a successful clothing swap to benefit a charitable organization. The first step involves selecting an organization that can effectively use the donated items, ensuring that the donations align with the organization's needs to avoid creating additional work for the staff. It is recommended to check the organization's website for a list of needed items and to confirm acceptance of large quantities. Finally, the importance of sending out clear invitations is emphasized, as many people may be unfamiliar with clothing swaps, especially those benefiting charitable organizations.

​

TEAM NOTES: This is an internet source. This article walks you through the steps on how you can host a clothing swap for charity. The first steps are quite clear, on step 5 is where it gets more detailed. Creating specific areas in your room for certain sizes and explaining why they are donating the clothes & what they hope to achieve is great for the clients. The article talks about the organizational aspect of it so I think it could help us organize our Hire Attire closet better.

​

–

​

Organizing your way to a better career and life (2012) 

https://marriott.byu.edu/magazine/feature/organizing-your-way-to-a-better-career-and-life

​

ABSTRACT:  In any sort of space, the environment in which you complete a task will always affect how you complete said task. In the office space, it's no different, with messy, cluttered work environments often leading to chaos and a general lack of productivity. As a result, a more organized, tidy workplace can work to increase the speed of work and also general professionalism. Similarly, as important as organizing the physical space is, it’s also important to make sure to stay on top of tasks.

​

TEAM NOTES: workspace and the effects it has on state of mind, motivation, professionalism, and productivity. It’s relevant as it helps tackle two of the most important aspects of the project. Our client has said they struggled with both workload and the workspace—this article covers the importance of both as well as how to improve on these issues. “In a recent workspace organization survey, nine of ten felt clutter had a negative impact on their lives, affecting productivity, state of mind, motivation, and even happiness. Participants noted that it even went so far as to damage their professional images and personal relationships.” 

​

—

​

Preciado, J. (2023). Expanding basic needs: The development of a university clothing closet (Order No. 30488031). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Closed Collection; ProQuest One Academic. (2809285158).  

https://library.indianapolis.iu.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/expanding-basic- needs development-university/docview/2809285158/se-2

​

ABSTRACT: California State University (CSU) struggles with their clothing closet because the closet is often overlooked by the food pantries on campus, as well as housing. CSU wants to help college students who struggle financially and cannot afford to buy professional clothes. CSU focused on the societal issue of not addressing the clothing needs of college students, instead only focusing on food and housing issues. CSU created a clothing closet for students to get professional clothing, which they may need for interviews. The lack of research and data on clothing insecurity, for college students, causes issues with developing the clothing closet and getting noticed by students. 

​

TEAM NOTES: This is an academic source. This source is based on the university California State University (CSU) and the clothing closet this school has. CSU focuses on clothing insecurities and the lack of access students have when it comes to professional clothing. Also discusses how the clothing closet gets overlooked by the food pantries. Kind of off topic but still has some relevant information when understanding a clothing closet. MORE ABOUT THE LOGIC OF THE PROJECT.​ "Bringing awareness and consciousness around the 11 essential need for clothing among all students and the university community is fundamental since this basic need has been overlooked by the university system" (Preciado, 2023, pp. 10-11).

​​​

–

​

ProjectBGreen. (2024, May 12). 5 essential tips to prepare your clothes for donation. Project B Green.

https://projectbgreen.com/5-essential-tips-to-prepare-your-clothes-for-donation.

​

​ABSTRACT: Understanding how to successfully donate clothes is essential before actually donating said clothes. The condition clothes are in when they are given to a donation site determines how simple of a process it is for the site. Making sure to categorize what to keep and what to donate, aids in the process of sorting through clothing. Next, analyze the clothing to make sure it is appropriate to donate; clothing is in good shape and wearable. Also, the clothing should be cleaned, so the site is able to assist those in need of clothing as quickly as possible. It is also important to organize clothes by type of clothing and/or age group. Then lastly, finding a place to donate.

1. Determine if clothes should be kept or donated.

2. Inspect the quality of clothes and if they are appropriate to donate.

3. Clean clothing before donating.

4. Organize clothes by categories.

5. Find a donation site.

​

​TEAM NOTES: This is an internet source. This article discusses how to donate clothes. This information could be useful for their website, as a way to provide information on how people should be donating clothes. But besides that, it is not really aimed at the issue. ABOUT THE ISSUE. "However, if items are still in good shape—and if you’d confidently wear them or give them to a friend—then they’re safe to donate" (ProjectBGreen 2024).

​

–

​

Rain. (2024, October 24). Thrift store inventory management: 7 tips and tricks. ThriftCart. 

https://thriftcart.com/blog/thrift-store-inventory-management​

​

ABSTRACT:  When operating a thrift store, accepting donations and keeping inventory are processes that are meant to have order and clear processes. When accepting donations, creating a sorting process assists in creating a productive system. Knowing what clothes to remove because they are unsellable or what clothes need to be attended to, is essentially in running a thrift store. Then clothing will also need to be inspecting once again before displaying them to customers. Having a software system that contains the inventory data, is ideal for thrift stores because the data is in one area and being maintained online. The layout of the thrift store is important to create an easier shopping experience for customers.

1. Develop a sorting process for donated clothes.

2. Place donated clothes in a category.

3. Have a software system to maintain inventory data.

4. Review inventory regularly.

5. Price items that benefit the store.

6. Move inventory around.

7. Create a conventional store layout.

​

TEAM NOTES: This is an internet source. Discusses 7 different tips that could be used when it comes to inventory for a thrift store. Obviously, Hire Attire is not a thrift store, but the concepts are similar. Firstly, the article covers techniques to use when it comes to donations. One thing to do when it comes to donations is had a sorting process and then put donated items in a category. For inventory it discusses a software to manage what is in inventory (I do like this idea). The rest of the types are not the best because the article discusses specifically to thrift stores. ABOUT THE ISSUE "When donations come in, whether at your store or collection points, ensure each item is accounted for and categorized" (Rain, 2024). 

​

–

​

Small office layout ideas to maximize your space. Herman Miller Store. (n.d.). 

https://store.hermanmiller.com/office-layout-ideas-small business.html?lang=en_US 

 

ABSTRACT:  Small office spaces can pose challenges in meeting diverse business requirements. Using this guide provides strategies to maximize available space, enhance productivity, and boost employee satisfaction. It emphasizes prioritizing team needs, whether the work environment is collaborative or independent, and offers practical design tips like optimizing pathways, maintaining clear sightlines, and creating private work areas. Additionally, it suggests design tricks to make small spaces feel larger, such as utilizing natural lighting and optimizing storage solutions.

​

TEAM NOTES: This article is an internet source. This article talks about how you can organize a small space to the best layout. Maximizing space is needed for when you have small working spaces. It also mentions how you can make it appear bigger than it is.

​

—

​

Teich, P. (1997). Handling donations. Candy Industry, 162(11), 11.

https://library.indianapolis.iu.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/handling-donations/docview/218755559/se-2

 

ABSTRACT: The importance of having clear structure is not only applicable in an office sense but also organizationally. People should have defined roles so that everyone is clear on what they need to do; if everyone needs to focus on their individual task, then the likelihood of the workload being too much is considerably lower. At the same time, it's equally important to know how to manage things from the other side, managing what donations you accept and who you accept them from.

 

TEAM NOTES:  This is useful because it provides guidance as to how you manage both sides, how to accept and manage the donations while also knowing when to decline them, etc. The importance of structure is also something that is relevant; I think that with an organization struggling with workload, the best way of managing it is with a clear structure, which this helps provide. “Another rule is that all donation requests must be done in writing. This too helps avoid duplication and will eliminate many requests. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people too lazy to write that letter asking for free merchandise”.

​

–

​

 UK's career closet helps students dress for success. (2017). The Lane Report, 32(4), 50.

https://library.indianapolis.iu.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/uks-career-closet- helps- students-dress-success/docview/1892702790/se-2 

​

ABSTRACT: With students experiencing financial burdens and struggles, many college students struggle to find professional clothing they can afford. Job interviews or internships require students to wear professional clothing, however college students struggle to purchase said clothing because they cannot afford them. Creating a clothing closet through the university helps students find professional clothing for free. The clothes are free will donation from students, staffs, or people from the community. The college students are able to utilize the closet and not have to worry about money, as the clothes are free. 

​

TEAM NOTES: This is an academic source. This does discuss a university in the UK, but it is focused on a clothing closet. This university focused on finding solutions to helping students who struggle financially and need professional clothes. This source focuses on why they have a clothing closet, which aligns well with what the Hire Attire aims to do. The biggest thing is it does not focus greatly on the issues Hire Attire is having. ABOUT THE LOGIC OF THE PROJECT.​ "To help fill Wildcat Wardrobe, faculty, staff and members of the community are being encouraged to donate clean, gently worn professional clothing to the closet" (UK's Career Closet, 2017).

​

–

We brighten the lives of women across the world. Worldwide | Dress for Success. (n.d.). https://dressforsuccess.org/. 

ABSTRACT: Global nonprofit organization that supports women by providing professional attire, career development tools, and support for job interviews. Program includes professional clothing, resume building, and helping women find jobs. Highlights importance of donations to ensure women have access to clothing they need to succeed.

​

TEAM NOTES: Helpful resource for understanding how to manage a clothing closet. Focuses on program sponsors, donations, and community involvement(volunteering). Their program highlights how donations and community involvements are important. Retrieved from Worldwide | Dress for Success

​

–

​

Yang, L. (2016). Optimizing inventory for profitability and order fulfillment improvement: Integrating inventory classification and control decisions under non-stationary demand for profit maximization and integrating inventory classification and control decisions to maximize order fulfillment measures (Order No. 10116256). Available from ABI/INFORM Collection. (1802533054). Retrieved from https://library.indianapolis.iu.edu/cgi-bin/proxy.pl?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/optimizing-inventory-profitability-order/docview/1802533054/se-2

 

ABSTRACT:  The importance of having a proper chain of command in which inventory is handled properly is massively important for a non-profit organization. Most nonprofit organizations tend to be more of a smaller ran business, meaning that a key issue they struggle with most of the time is handling their inventory. Things such as correct inventory logging and classification goes a long way in allowing the employees to fully understand what they have or don’t have. Such a way of doing things also makes things easier for customers, who will be able to scroll through the items available to them with ease, likely drawing more customers to end up making purchases.

 

TEAM NOTES:  This source, although long, with the use of key words you can find a lot of good information about how a structure of the non-profit organization should be, which is of course useful for our project. “The primary reason for applying inventory classification is that the number of SKUs is too large for companies to implement a specific inventory control policy for each item”.

​

​