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Dressed for success
By Nicole Haley
Melissa O'Shea has two major weak spots: exquisite shoes and charitable causes. Tomorrow, O'Shea will bring her passions together by co-hosting a shoe drive to benefit an organization dedicated to helping low-income women enter the job market. "I have a shoe room," says O'Shea, founder of a 1,200-member social networking group called the Hello Stiletto Shoe Club. "Some people collect art, some people collect jewelry and some people drive fancy cars. I have a lot of shoes." Three years ago O'Shea started the shoe club as a way for like-minded shoe enthusiasts to meet up for stiletto-worthy occasions. The women dress up and go on outings and often give out prizes for the best pair of shoes. But the group is interested in more than kitten heels and wedges. "What became evident as the club started getting bigger was that people were very interested in doing charitable work," O'Shea said.
As development director of the Accelerated Cure Project, a Waltham national nonprofit dedicated to curing multiple sclerosis, O'Shea has led the group in fundraising events to benefit her work. But recently the group found a new cause.
Tomorrow night club members will gather at the Boston offices of Dress for Success on Commonwealth Avenue for a charity shoe drive. An international nonprofit, Dress for Success provides free professional work attire to economically disadvantaged women trying to enter the business world. "I'm really proud to be able to do this, it strikes a chord with many of our members ... We have lots of professional women in the club," O'Shea said. "To be in a position to help other women excel and grow in their careers is very rewarding." For the event, members of the Hello Stiletto Shoe Club are teaming up with Planet Shoes, a Waltham Web site company specializing in comfortable and active shoes sold online at www.planetshoes.com. The company is donating about 25 Italian leather handbags to Dress for Success in conjunction with donated new and gently used shoes from the shoe club. The accessories will help complete interview looks for women supported by the organization. "We try to do our part in terms of donating to different charities," said Andrea Delorie, buyer for Planet Shoes. Delorie said the company participates in many environmentally friendly initiatives. "We have affiliations with the environment and we thought why not do something to benefit women." There is nothing worse than finding the perfect interview suit and not having the right shoes to go along with it, says Kim Todd, executive director for the Dress for Success Boston affiliate. "We usually do get more clothing than shoes," said Todd, adding the organization strives to dress women in professional attire from "head to toe." "When you know you look good, it makes you feel good and automatically makes you more confident," said Todd. Shoe lovers can stop by the organization's 989 Commonwealth Ave. office from 6 to 8 p.m. to drop their donations during an open house. The shoes and Planet Shoes handbags will end up on the feet and on the shoulders of some of the 700 women Dress for Success expects to serve this year, Todd said. O'Shea, 36, said she owns 200 pairs of shoes - many of them bought when she lived in London and had a job paying for most of her living expenses. She especially loves her $625 pair of Manolo Blahnik's, a splurge she says was worth every penny. O'Shea and many of her fellow footwear connoisseurs have shoes to spare. "This one is a no brainer," O'Shea said of the Dress for Success shoe drive. "We have a club full of people who have huge shoe collections, if any group could spare shoes it would be us." O'Shea said others interested in donating items - which could include shoes, handbags, hosiery and financial contributions - should contact her at melissa_no_spam_please_@i_mean_it.no_spam_whatsoever.hellostiletto.com and visit the Dress for Success Web site at www.dressforsucess.org. To learn more about the club, visit www.hellostiletto.com. Nicole Haley can be reached at nhaley@cnc.com or 781-398-8004.
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