What an awesome day to reveal our new program for @theheywardhouse“CRAIG’S CLOSET”! My dad came up with the idea since growing up he only had one suit. Many young men don’t even have the means to buy a suit and through this initiative we will be able help in the greater Pittsburgh area. A very BIG thank you to the folks at @sportclipshaircuts for helping and giving a discount to anyone who donates an article of clothing that can be used for underprivileged kids who can’t afford a suit. Heyward house is only getting bigger! – Cam
From Teresa Varley, Steelers.co
When Cameron Heyward talks about his late father, Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward, you can hear the love in his voice.
Heyward’s father died way too young, at age 39, of brain cancer. Heyward was just a high school senior at the time.
It inspired Heyward to be a force behind a t-shirt campaign to promote cancer awareness, and the ‘Pittsburgh is Stronger than Cancer,’ shirts raise funds to help with research and aid families dealing with hardships treatment can create.
Now Heyward is taking on another venture to honor his father’s memory. When his dad arrived at the University of Pittsburgh as a freshman running back, he arrived with one suit, something he was grateful to at least have coming from a single-parent home with six siblings.
There are many young men currently in Pittsburgh facing the same type of battle, many that don’t even have that one suit they can wear to a job interview, or a college recruiting trip, or anywhere.
And Heyward wants to help them.
He has launched ‘Craig’s Closet,’ a program he is doing in conjunction with his foundation, The Heyward House, and Sports Clips to help provide suits, shirts, ties and the necessities to young men in the Pittsburgh area who don’t have the means to attain proper attire for key occasions.
“It’s very important,” said Heyward. “The idea came from my dad. When he grew up he only had one suit. A lot of his friends didn’t have suits at all. This is a creative way we thought of to give back to the community and help prepare young men for jobs, or homecoming, moving forward in life. You never know how much a suit can help present yourself.
“Between my mom, me, my wife, my family, we thought it would be a good idea. It’s been a lot of work, but we got a lot of donations from people.”
Read more and view a few more photos!
