Twenty-year-old Kimberly Calcano of Norwich just got a job at The Loft retail store at Foxwoods Resort Casino, but finding work was only half the battle.

“You have to dress nice,” Calcano said. “I was in need of business clothes.”

With little money, she tried to get away with wearing black leggings and shirts that weren’t too dressy. But Calcano quickly realized she needed a better wardrobe to be able to stay in a job selling stylish new clothing.

So she turned to the newly created clothes locker at Our Piece of the Pie, a Norwich nonprofit devoted to helping urban youths become economically independent. The clothes locker was the project of a Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut leadership program that graduated about two dozen people last month.

Members of the leadership program came up with the idea of supporting a clothes locker by canvassing nonprofits around the region to find out about some of their unmet needs, said Jan Chamberlain, owner of First Physical Therapy in Westerly.

"Things to get a job and things to keep a job" was how Jinelle Hooker, supervisor of programs for Our Piece of the Pie in eastern Connecticut, put the needs of the community. "Gently used, any size, any color."

Chamberlain was joined on the project by Lauriann Mancuso, an assistant vice president for Eastern Savings Bank, and Ishmael Bryan, who works in the collections department at Chelsea Groton Bank. The three worked up a proposal for the walk-in clothes locker, which ended up being chosen as the leadership program's project for the year.

But identifying a need was only part of the challenge. Now the chamber leadership group had to work on fundraising and collecting donations — about a four-month process. The project proved so successful that Our Piece of the Pie now has a computer-resource room where young people can look for jobs and practice interviewing skills as well as a clothes locker that includes purses, underwear, toiletries and even casual wear for after work.

Our Piece of the Pie had access to the organization's clothes locker in Hartford, but shuttling young adults between there and eastern Connecticut proved difficult, Hooker said. And Sherrie Parenteau, youth development specialist for the agency, said there was no way adults were going to be able to pick out clothes for people still developing their own sense of style.

"They're all looking to be individuals," Parenteau said. "Being able to give them a variety of expression is amazing."

Hooker said her agency has been working diligently to eliminate barriers to employment for at-risk youths in the Norwich area. Along with the clothes locker, Our Piece of the Pie offers young people tips on dressing for success and lessons in interviewing skills, among other programs.

Last year, according to Hooker, the agency worked with 84 young adults. Forty-six of the clients, who are between 14 and 24 years old, were able to find jobs.

The clothes locker, she said, will make it that much easier for these young adults — many of whom lack family support and live in shelters — to get on their feet and support themselves.

"I'm really impressed," said Calcano, the young woman who was visiting the clothes locker for the first time last month. "It looks like a store."

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow