Workplace Frockstar Jen Sheridan talks to us about her love for Frocktober, why she fundraises for ovarian cancer research, her best tips, and her undeniably quirky style. 

Q&A with Jen

Tell us why you love Frocktober

I have been participating (in Frocktober) for nine years across various workplaces and industries. 

I love that every year my social and professional network grows and so does the exposure of the cause of Frocktober to more people.

Tell us a little bit about your current workplace?

Pacific Finance in Western Australia. We offer a wide range of finance solutions for equipment, commercial and property finance so it's a pretty standard office environment! I am the Business Manager. 

If you could describe Frocktober in one sentence, what would it be?

For me, a fun and fabulous month of frocking and fundraising, with a lot giggles along the way.

Tell us why you raise funds for ovarian cancer research through the OCRF?

I have been in remission from Stage 3 Bowel Cancer since 2011 and I'm "lucky" that I got bowel cancer, as I see it. 

I fell across a tiny magazine article about Frocktober and decided that this is exactly where I wanted to put all my fundraising efforts.

How do you stylishly challenge yourself each Frocktober?

Every year I personally challenge myself to wearing a minimum of 31 different dresses in October. This involves wearing them the entire day to work, work events, the gym and socially. The challenge is wearing them in a corporate office environment and for actually quite formal meetings. It is always a great conversation ice-breaker given some of my outfits! I also do not wear the same dress ever again – every year I donate them and get another 31 dresses.

How would you describe your Frocktober style?  

It's not about the dresses, but about the entire outfit including shoes, nail polish, jewelry, accessories and props. And my style is generally to make it as ugly as possible – that's the key. 

My sponsors love to see daggy and awful!

What are your top tips for fundraising in the workplace during Frocktober?

Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Having a business card with your sponsor information is a great way to spread the word and get extra exposure and fundraising. Or, have a QR scanner at the reception/front area.

What advice would you give to someone joining Frocktober workplace for the first time?

Keep it simple, try not to do too much but have fun with it. A top tip is that I put a sign out on the reception about the cause with a link to my fundraising page for sponsor donations. It also gets people prepared for what they may see.