In 2016 a customer asked if Utah Woolen Mills would donate a suit for an auction to benefit a friend who was battling brain cancer. BJ Stringham attended the event and following the event he left feeling the need to do more to help people. Days later BJ called his father Bart to share the experience with him, BJ says. “I was very emotional. I said, ‘We’ve got to do something with our business. We’ve got a great customer base, We are a solid business, We should be able to harness all of our strengths into something we could do in our community.’” Eventually he came up with the idea of giving away suits. There were some people that tried to discourage him, saying it would be too expensive. There was one friend, however, who said, “BJ, you’ve got to do it, The coolest thing is that every success in your business equates to success in your community.” From this Suited For Good was born.

Suited For Good is a philanthropic initiative to give away a free suit for every suit sold. In the beginning, most Suited For Good recipients visited UWM Men’s Shop to get outfitted. Then UWM decided to expand the charity’s reach to rural areas and even to other states. To accomplish this the Stringhams purchased a motorhome, filled it with suits and took Suited for Good on the road. The Suited For Good team travels to communities across the region and invite members of these communities to nominate “a deserving man” to receive a new suit. Recipients show up for appointments just like they do in the store.

“The coolest thing is giving a suit to a guy who has a place to live and a wife and a kid and is just trying to get a job,” says BJ Stringham. “Or just a guy who’s been down on his luck.”

“Some of the best stories are of guys who could possibly afford a new suit, but don’t buy one,” he says. “Maybe they could afford it but they just don’t do it because they’re always giving to others.”

Suited for Good doesn’t just donate tailored suits, but their nonprofit gives suits to anyone undergoing a challenge. In two years Suited For Good donated over 600 suits to deserving individuals. They coordinate with their customers to find people in need who would appreciate a new suit. Something as simple as a suit goes a long way to help people overcoming homelessness, health challenges and the difficulties of resettlement.

The mission of Suited For Good is designed to do much more than making a candidate look good. “Sometimes just by getting a new suit, you look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s nothing I can’t do!'” says Bart Stringham. “The confidence rises to another level and you’re able to accomplish things you never thought you could do. And we’ve seen it happen.” Suited For Good has just one condition for those who receive a suit from Suited For Good: “pay it forward.” “It’s a hand up, not a handout,” says Stringham.

In 2019 Suited For Good has donated over 129 suits to deserving individuals.

If you would like to be involved in this amazing program visit www.suitedforgood.com