The Suit Story

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

I’d like to share a story that Wil, our fabulous homeless shelter volunteer, shared with me.

Wil is going into his tenth month of volunteering at the shelter and his friends and family have taken note. They now bring him donations of clothing or small personal items, rather than taking these things to Goodwill. Many nights, Wil arrives at the shelter with men’s shirts or a pair of shoes or a jacket. So often, in fact, that he is frequently greeted by eager inquiries – “did you bring me anything tonight?”

One day a few months ago, he had been given several mens suits by a buddy who runs a dry cleaner. After a certain period of time goes by, clothing that never gets picked up is disposed of, and today it happened to be suits.

When Wil arrived at the shelter, he was quickly approached by one of the monitors who asked if by any chance Wil had any “nicer” clothing with him that day. One of the men in the shelter was in a bind. His best friend had been shot just a few days before and the family of the friend was picking him up the next day to attend the funeral and spend time with them. However, the man had nothing to wear that was appropriate for a funeral. He desperately wanted to go but was ashamed to appear in his ragged street clothes.

One of the suits fit perfectly.

I tend not to make sweeping statements about fate, destiny, or the nature of God’s providence. But let me just say…that is pretty cool.