On Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, the Mulberry House Senior Center at 62-70 W Main St, Middletown, NY, buzzed with laughter, music, and the soft rustle of hangers as residents browsed through rows of donated suits, dresses, and cozy winter coats. The Minisink Kindness Rotary Club’s Second Annual “Dress for Success” event offered free clothing for anyone needing attire for a job interview or simply a warm jacket for the season.
Behind the racks of neatly displayed garments lies a story of compassion, community, and one woman’s memory that sparked a movement.
From one dress to a department store of kindness
Event organizer Josephine Bloomfield started small. “At the beginning, we only collected 50 dresses, and only one girl came,” she recalled. “We didn’t give up. We kept going and going and going, and it just got bigger and bigger.”
What began as a prom-dress drive inspired by Bloomfield’s own missed high school prom — she couldn’t attend because she couldn’t afford a dress — has grown into a year-round mission of generosity. The event featured balloon displays, volunteer photographers, free jewelry, shoes, and even a red-carpet “paparazzi” moment for kids. Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano cut the ribbon, and students from Northern Academy arrived by the busload, some volunteering to straighten racks before shopping themselves.
Bloomfield’s husband shares the vision. “It’s basically what my husband and I decided,” she said. “Ladies wear a dress once. It stays in the closet forever. Why not ask and do it?”
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The couple’s persistence paid off — attendees now travel from as far as Maine, an eight-hour journey, drawn by their simple promise: “As long as they need an outfit, they can come and get it.”
Minisink Kindness Rotary: A club built on caring
Minisink Kindness Rotary Club president Angela Lee explained the club’s rapid rise. “Before, I used to be [in the] Port Jervis Rotary Club, and then we saw the need to have a club with [the] kindness name in there.”
Chartered on April 10, 2025, after starting as a 10-member satellite, the club has already swept district awards (five prizes among four members) because, Lee said, “We have the kindness to promote the kindness.”
The name is intentional. “Kindness [is] so important for the people in the community,” Lee stressed. The club positions itself as “the media in between the society and Rotary,” bridging donors and those in need, she said.
Last year’s debut at Middletown Library saw winter socks vanish: “The minute that donator put [them] on the table” they were gone. This year, coats, men’s suit jackets, socks, and blankets topped wish lists. “People love it,” Lee said. “Maybe they can’t afford it. This is a good event. They find it very, very helpful.”
Ann Taylor steps up—and calls on the industry
Alyssa Paraglia, district manager for Ann Taylor and LOFT at Woodbury Common, brought fixtures, manpower, and a challenge to her peers. Five associates helped set up; three more had to leave for store shifts. “We love clothes. When you are dressed your best, you feel your best,” Paraglia said.
Though this was her first year, she’s already planning broader involvement. “For spring, we’re going to have another event,” she said,”and I’m going to extend it to 23 stores.”
Paraglia urged the clothing industry to follow suit. Her company supports the national Dress for Success philanthropy, but local efforts like this resonate deeper. “November is the biggest month to be thankful,” she noted. “To be able to give back anytime is something that I personally enjoy doing.”
Store manager Bridget Thompson echoed the sentiment: “When we look good, we feel good. It’s a tough world out there. People are juggling for food, for work. You want to help them.”
Volunteers see purpose in every careful choice
Linda Johnson, a 25-year veteran of the Middletown Cares Coalition, watched attendees browse deliberately. “The people that come are taking their time looking. They came here for a purpose and they got what they needed,” she observed. One early visitor sought only size 28-waist jeans and T-shirts — “he only wanted certain things, and that’s all he took.”
Johnson, who also coordinates the coalition’s drug-prevention family nights, knows outreach is tricky. “The one stumbling block is you never know how to reach the people you want to reach.” Food remains the surest draw, but today clothes were enough. “We had a lot of people involved. A nice crew. Like-minded people [who] care and have the passion.”
A message louder than words
As racks emptied, Lee delivered the club’s core hope: “We care about the people. We are working on some projects that directly give the help to the community.” Next year, she promised heavier publicity to make sure all of the clothing is gone.
Bloomfield’s spring prom event — now in its 17th year — will return in March or early April at Temple Sinai, and is expecting 600–700 teens. Private fittings are available year-round.
For now, Mulberry House shelves are lighter, closets across the Hudson Valley are fuller, and Middletown’s newest Rotary club has proven its name is more than a label — it’s a promise kept, one outfit at a time.
