Women who are fleeing domestic violence are often faced with starting their lives over with no home, no clothes and no job. To help them get back on their feet, the DeGroote School of Business has partnered with KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory firm, to support the work of Inasmuch House, a Hamilton organization that offers shelter, counseling and other services to women.

DeGroote and KPMG hosted a women's networking event and fashion show, Dress for Success, earlier this month at the Burlington Art Centre. Event-goers, including more than 40 DeGroote alumni, contributed eight cartons of business clothing which was donated to Inasmuch House.

Events like this symbolize the importance of DeGroote's overarching framework which includes leadership, ethics and innovation.

“These three principles provide direction in every facet of our work, and we encourage our students to think about how they can incorporate these tenets into their academic career and beyond,” said Milena Head, associate dean of the DeGroote School of Business. “Each year, I am particularly proud of the social conscience I see in our MBA students. Students regularly develop initiatives to support others in the community, contribute to various charitable causes and engage with the world around them.”

Ruth Todd of KPMG explained that the event demonstrated the firm's values.

“KPMG employees desire to be active in our communities and make sure that we are getting involved and contributing to such worthy causes as Inasmuch House. Events like this allow KPMG employees to build new relationships and do something that is a little different than our typical day-to-day accounting work.”

“Partnering with KPMG in this event was an easy decision,” said Head. “Many of our alumni work at KPMG, and collaborating with them to support Inasmuch House and raise awareness of the work this organization does is an important contribution to the Hamilton community.”

The fashion show featured clothing from Mirella's of Brant Street in Burlington modeled by KPMG employees from the Hamilton office. The evening also included a presentation by Joanne Capretta of Inasmuch House. In 2009, Inasmuch offered safe housing to 186 women and 193 children. Daily, the shelter can accommodate 37 women, and provides meals, clothing, laundry facilities and personal needs to residents. Women usually stay at Inasmuch House approximately six weeks.

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