• by Melissa Meyers, AIU Communications Specialist •
Students at Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School now have a new resource to help them dress for success. Thanks to The Heyward House and its Craig’s Closet initiative, the school received a fully stocked closet of suits, ties, dress shirts and other professional attire. The best part? It’s all free to students.
The Heyward House, founded by Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward, was created to empower and engage youth through innovative programs and partnerships. Craig’s Closet is one of its key outreach programs, named after Cameron’s father, Craig Heyward. It provides high school boys in the Pittsburgh area with free dress clothes for any occasion. On Friday, Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School became a recipient of this cause.
LINK: The Heyward House
“It's a great opportunity for our students to get a suit to not only look good, but feel good and have that confidence,” Kevin Woods, social studies teacher at Sto-Rox Jr./Sr. High School, said.
Craig’s Closet is rooted in the belief that confidence starts with feeling good about yourself. Most often, that begins with how you present yourself to the world. Kevin Woods is the reason it now exists at Sto-Rox. He reached out to The Heyward House with hopes the foundation would be interested in working with the district.
“I know a lot of times our students are forgotten or not looked after, so I want to make sure that our students have that same opportunity as other students and districts,” said Woods, who advocated for this project to come to Sto-Rox.
Adding an additional layer of excitement to the launch, several University of Pittsburgh football players were there to help set up Craig’s Closet. Caleb Junko, Cade Dowd, Sam Carpenter, Nico Crawford and Nilay Upadhyayula installed the closet and connected with Sto-Rox students Michael Thompson, Ayure King, Raymond Porter, and Caden Reed. This was one of nine events that made up Pitt Football’s Day of Service.
LINK: Pitt Football
“It’s just really exciting to see it all come together,” Woods said. “Again, it comes down to our students, our kids having access and I just think about what opportunities there are from this moment on.”
For the young men of Sto-Rox, Craig’s Closet isn’t just a new room in the building, it’s an opportunity to raise their level of confidence and be able to walk proudly into their next formal event with their head held high.