Community support allows St. Brian Clothiers to continue mission
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The city of good neighbors came to the rescue for one local organization that found itself in financial trouble, and now community support is allowing them to continue their mission to help people feel and look their best.
Saint Brian Clothiers is an organization that helps men and children find a look suited for career opportunities, personal life challenges or milestones.
"I have an obligation to those who we dress but I also have a deep obligation to those who entrust us with their clothing," founder Dewitt Lee said. "We tell them that St. Brian Clothiers is a place where their legacy and the clothes of a man goes on."
The donated clothing items are kept in four storage units throughout Buffalo.
"Because we get donations of items that may not be in season, we have to find places to make sure those out of season items can be stored. This is the purpose of the storage unit because we do have so many donations," Lee said.
However, Lee ran into a problem. The organization was not able to pay for the units and risked losing these important pieces of clothing. When Lee put out the call for help, the community responded.
"The SOS campaign has been really successful up until this point right? Because we were able to get the bill paid here, which allowed me access to these storage units so now we're able to do what we do best and that's not asking for help but giving help," Lee said.
Metro Self Storage on Main Street is paying next month's storage fee. lee hopes to find enough sponsors to help with the cost of managing the storage units for the rest of the year. This will also help the organization to continue its mission in providing free dresswear,
Lee is getting ready for their next pop up event to dress first responders and veterans. Suits for your Service is being held Sunday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 24 Hastings Avenue in Buffalo.
Saint Brian Clothiers is currently collecting donations for its SOS campaign through GoFundMe, with a goal of raising $7,500.
Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.