The Clothing Closet is seeking donations of professional clothing for students.

The Clothing Closet, located in the Frank W. Thomas Building, is part of the Career Development Center, which helps students prepare for jobs by helping them with resumes, interviews and career options. It was created in 2016 by the career center’s former director, Debbie Young, because she had a student who was struggling to purchase professional clothes.

The Clothing Closet accepts donations of clothes such as suits, shoes, dresses and jewelry to help students prepare for interviews.

"One of our administrators gave a very large donation of clothing, which was really nice," said Mary Willis, director of the Career Development Center.

One of the significant issues of the Clothing Closet is not having a variety of sizes for men and women. Here is a list of things it needs:

• Blouses, size extra small to extra large
• Petite/small women’s slacks, size 0-4
• Women’s blazers, size small to extra large
• Women’s plus size
• Jewelry
• Men’s blazers
• Men’s dress shirts, size large to extra large

Nearly 11,180 students visited the Clothing Closet during the 2019-20 academic year before it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Willis said. About 45% of the students who visited the Clothing Closet needed clothes to help prepare them for a job interview. Another 25% were going to some sort of networking event, and 15% needed business attire for a class presentation or poster presentation.

The Clothing Closet helps students learn what is appropriate to wear for a specific job they want to get hired for. Every company has its own uniform or dress code, even if it is unofficial or not, but students need to research the company's clothing policy, Willis said. "I even encourage students to, if they're really unsure about what to wear, call the company and say, ‘Hey, I'm really excited about this interview I have coming up. Just want to confirm what is the expected attire for the interview.’"

Anyone is welcome to donate clothing. Donations are accepted from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m Tuesdays or Thursdays in the summer, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m during the academic year. People can also call 559.278.2381 for a drop-off behind the Satellite Student Union or email audreymunoz@csufresno.edu to set up an appointment.