Chris, Eric and Mahmud are just three of thousands of Canadian men who have found themselves facing hard times, even harder choices and a limited amount of options when finding employment. This past April alone, there were 744,600 unemployed men across nation wide.
Moores’ Canadian Suit Drive provides free suits and professional clothing to men seeking to turn their lives around by working directly with more than 60 local recipient organizations across Canada that provide job readiness programs for men seeking employment.
When suit recipient Eric completed teachers’ college he faced difficult financial times and a dated wardrobe. Without a new suit, his ability to make a smart first impression in a job interview was hampered. He got professional clothing from Dress Your Best in Toronto, an organization dedicated to promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged men with high-quality professional clothes for job interviews and employment. With a new look, he was able to interview with confidence and get his first teaching job. He constantly reminds himself, “it’s okay to ask for help.”
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Mahmud has a Master’s degree in financial economics. He moved to Canada last September from Bangladesh and discovered the suit drive program while looking for work. He received a suit for upcoming job interviews and succeeded in landing his dream job.
“We may not realize how much confidence a suit can give, but sometimes that small act of donating a suit to someone in need hoping to transition back into the workplace can make all the difference,” says Paige Souter, Executive Director at Dress Your Best in Toronto. “You can imagine the difference looking and feeling good has on self-assurance.”
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Chris says receiving a suit was life changing. “He now believes he belongs in a business environment, a place where people respect him,” adds Souter.
Now in its fifth year, the suit drive runs from July 1-31. Canadians can donate men’s suits, shirts, jackets, pants, ties, belts and shoes as well as women’s professional clothing at any of the more than 100 Moores’ stores across Canada. As a thank you for donating, customers will receive 50% off their next purchase. For more information, click here.
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To help spread the word, Moores will donate $1 (up to $10,000) each time people do one or more of the following:
1. Follow @MooresClothing on Twitter
2. Tweet #SuitDrive
3. Share Canadian Suit Drive videos