The Illinois Education Foundation (IEF) held its second annual Suited for Success event this past Saturday, Jan. 21, at The Standard Club. Suited for Success is a ground-breaking event designed to provide high-quality, interview-worthy clothes and footwear to low-income, highly motivated community college students who will soon be entering the professional world. This year, Brooks Brothers, The Standard Club, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Davis Imperial Cleaners, Allen Edmonds, Lori’s Shoes, LODIS, and Juliewatsonstyle donated tens of thousands of dollars in clothing and services to 50 IEF Scholars, ages 18-58.

Deputy Governor Cristal Thomas presented Tim Bradford, an outstanding IEF Scholar and U.S war veteran with a tie, donated and signed by Governor Quinn, to inaugurate the IEF’s Ties That Bind/Scarves that Support initiative, a new effort to provide pathways for IEF Scholars into the professional world. Dr. Alvin Bisarya, City Colleges of Chicago vice chancellor, Strategy, Research and Organizational Effectiveness, also spoke to the scholars. As did James Moriarity, executive director of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Chicago and Co-Chair of the event.