That’s exactly what Christopher Schafer provides to men every Wednesday.

Christopher makes custom suits for a living in Baltimore. His passion for clothing, and the need to find an organization to donate unwanted suits, pushed him to create Sharp Dressed Man.

“I was bringing new suits to a client who had a couple bags of old clothes he didn’t want to wear because he told me I spoiled him with new custom suits. It was quite a compliment, but it came with trying to find a home for these clothes,” Christopher says.

Christopher discovered many organizations provided everything for men who were in need of a job – resume building, practice interviews and setting interview appointments – but they didn’t have the clothing to make the right first impression, so he created his own nonprofit.

“At Sharp Dressed Man, we focus on the finishing touch. Other organizations are bringing us guys going through a transformation, and we’re there to send them out the door to their interviews,” he says.

Sharp Dressed Man has suited more than 8,000 men, and is on track to dress 2,000 men this year. The men come to Sharp Dressed Man with a referral from a partnering organization. Every Wednesday at noon, Christopher sees a line of men stretching down the street. And all of them are waiting for a suit.

“We bring the guys back one at a time, working one-on-one with a stylist who measures them, sizes them and finds options. I want them to try the suits on for fit.

“If the clothes fit, we’ll give them all kinds of stuff, but they have to have clothes they want to wear and feel confident in.”

Sharp Dressed Man received a $25,000 State Farm Neighborhood Assist^® Grant in 2018 to help impact more lives in their community. Part of the State Farm Neighborhood of Good^® initiative, State Farm Neighborhood Assist is back for its eighth year in 2019. The program awards $25,000 grants to 40 nonprofit organizations to help fund neighborhood education, safety and community development projects.

The grant helped keep Sharp Dressed Man open.

“The grant covered our overhead costs – paying the rent and electric bill – and we got a new spot. It’s really hard to focus on trying to help people when you’re worried about paying the bills,” Christopher says. “Now, we can work on planning for the future.”

With more submissions and more grants, State Farm Neighborhood Assist^® is going bigger on building stronger neighborhoods together in 2022. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of State Farm^®, we’re awarding 100 $25,000 grants (vs. 40 grants in previous years) to causes making a difference in their communities. We are also doubling the number of submissions to 4,000. Submissions open on Feb. 16 at 1pm ET!

This year, the program will award 100 $25,000 grants (vs. 40 grants in previous years) to nonprofit organizations to help fund neighborhood improvement projects. Additionally, we’re doubling the number of cause submissions to 4,000.

“State Farm Neighborhood Assist truly embodies the spirit of what our company has been about for 100 years-being a good neighbor,” said Rasheed Merritt, assistant vice president at State Farm. “We are excited about expanding the program in 2022 to help even more neighborhoods.”

Here’s how the program works:

Submission Phase: Starts February 16 and ends when 4,000 submissions are reached

Individuals can submit a cause at www.neighborhoodassist.com starting February 16 at 1pm ET. You can prepare now by going to the website and downloading the submission guide. We will accept the first 4,000 submissions. The State Farm Review Committee will then narrow the field to the Top 200 finalists using a scoring rubric.

Voting Phase: April 27-May 6

Ultimately, voters will decide which community improvement projects win big. The public will have a chance to vote 10 times a day, every day for 10 days, from April 27-May 6, for their favorite causes from the list of finalists. Voting will take place at www.neighborhoodassist.com.

Winners Announced: June 7

The 100 causes that receive the most votes will each win a $25,000 grant. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, June 7, at www.neighborhoodassist.com

Last year, 125,000 people cast more than 3 million votes in support of their favorite causes, selecting winners from small towns and big cities.

Since the program began in 2012, more than 380 causes have received a total of $10 million to enact change in their communities.

Neighbors across the country will soon have an exciting opportunity to help change their communities for the better through State Farm Neighborhood Assist^®. The program awards $25,000 grants to 40 nonprofit organizations to help fund neighborhood improvement projects.

According to a recent State Farm research study, one-quarter of respondents say they are “extremely” or “very” involved in trying to improve their neighborhood and six-in-10 are trying to improve their neighborhood in some capacity.

State Farm Neighborhood Assist can be a catalyst for that change.

Here’s how the program works:

Submission Phase: Starts June 2 and ends when 2,000 submissions are reached

Individuals can submit a cause at www.neighborhoodassist.com starting June 2. You can prepare now by going to the website and downloading the submission guide. We will accept the first 2,000 submissions. The State Farm Review Committee will then narrow the field to the Top 200 finalists using a scoring rubric.

Voting Phase: August 18-27

Ultimately, voters will decide which community improvement projects win big. The public will have a chance to vote 10 times a day, every day for 10 days, from Aug. 18-27, for their favorite causes from the list of finalists. Voting will take place at www.neighborhoodassist.com.

Winners Announced: September 29

The 40 causes that receive the most votes will each win a $25,000 grant. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at www.neighborhoodassist.com.

“State Farm is pleased to bring back Neighborhood Assist for its tenth year,” said Rasheed Merritt, assistant vice president at State Farm. “This program is all about building stronger neighborhoods together.”

Last year, 145,000 people cast 3.9 million votes in support of their favorite causes, selecting winners from small towns and big cities.

Since the program began, more than 340 causes have received a total of $9 million to enact change in their communities.

“When you lose everything, it is natural to be so emotionally attached to the things that you have lost,” Keith says. “It’s a painful process to have to think about everything you lost.

“However, if you take the time to go room by room, opening cabinets and closets and taking pictures or getting it all on video, in a large catastrophe like this, it speeds up the process.”

Keith completed his own home inventory, as well as doing one for his mother. Many of 1,100 customers who filed claims, however, didn’t have one to refer to.

“It is a frustrating process when submitting a claim,” Keith says. “Think about getting asked about everything you own? How many pair of socks, shirts, shoes, pants.”

Santa Barbara, Calif., Agent Irene Henry helped a customer who had a total loss in the Jesusita Fire in 2009 update her home inventory with a smartphone.

“It’s important to update an inventory, or do one if you haven’t already, of the contents of your home” Irene says. “Whether taking pictures or video, or writing down an inventory list, you have that information. If you have a claim, an inventory will make it smoother and easier to process.”

Irene walked customer Mary Knapp through creating an inventory of the Knapp’s home on Mary’s smartphone, opening drawers and cabinets in the kitchen, closets in bedrooms and walking throughout the house recording every detail.

“It’s so important,” says Mary. “It triggers your mind because there is so much you could never be able to recall it later.”

Mary stored the inventory in her phone, and also has it on a backup hard drive. A home inventory can also be emailed to a customer’s agent.

“Recovering from the fires, it has been emotional. It still is,” Keith says. “But the claims were emotionally easier for customers who completed the inventory.”

Elizabeth relied on friends and busses to get her children to school and herself to doctors' appointments. Every day was a battle.

In 2016 things started turning around. In the form of a 2012 sedan. The Gomez family became one of the more than1,000 families across the country who were handed keys to reliable transportation from the National Auto Body Council.

For nearly a decade, the National Auto Body Council's Recycled Rides program has provided reliable transportation to families in need. Nearly 300 cars were donated by the program in 2016 alone; 30 of the cars were donated by State Farm.

The Recycled Rides program brings together business partners in the auto industry such as insurers, auto body shops and dealerships with community organizations to identify families in need. Damaged cars are brought back to near showroom condition for their new owners.

Scout's Honor

Camping is an important part of being a Boy Scout -critical to learning and experiencing the great outdoors. The biggest challenge for the largest Boy Scout Troop in the world is just getting there.

In November 2015, the Recycled Rides program provided the troop much needed transportation. A 4x4 truck was delivered to Atlanta’s Boy Scout Troop 100. But they didn’t just fill it with firewood and tents, the troop delivered gifts and care packages to needy neighbors.

Connected by Good Neighbors from coast to coast

Jennifer Castro, a single mom from the Los Angeles area, recalls the day she was presented her car as a day she’ll never forget. In 2016, the single mom was presented the keys to a new Nissan Altima, but also a key to a better life for her and her daughter.

After moving to Dallas in 2012, following two deployments and an honorable discharge from the Army, Henry and Quisha Darcus were barely adjusting to their new metro area when a string of bad luck hit. On her second day at work, Quisha was in a crash and their car couldn't be repaired or replaced.

What made this crash more difficult, the couple's seven-year-old daughter has critical, regular medical appointments. The family needed a car. Fortunately, the Iraq War vet and his family were presented a new sedan to help them navigate Dallas and get their daughter the help she needs.

While many take transportation for granted, this program brings together businesses and community groups to provide vehicles to needy families. Together, they make helping a routine.

The gamble paid off, she found a good job. Then two years later she found herself expecting her first child. And like many first-time parents, the anxiety and high costs of child care weighed on her. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do.

In a stroke of luck, Melia was referred to a local nonprofit, Childcare Resources. Thanks to their Resource and Referral Program, Melia found childcare for her baby girl, Kiera.

“Recently, I called Childcare Resources and expressed my thankfulness,” Melia reflected. “I told the executive director, ‘You don’t know me, but more than 20 years ago your organization changed my life for the better. And I just wanted to say, thanks’.”

Childcare Resources makes quality care and education of children happen. They provide information, education and assistance to more than 4,600 clients annually.

“The program eliminated the worry of having to find and to pay the high cost of childcare after bringing a little one into the world,” says Melia.

Childcare Resources, an organization supported by State Farm, continued to help Melia as a new mom. Through their Supplemental Child Care Program, she received financial support that enabled her to attend college. She eventually graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

“The assistance and services I received gave me peace of mind. I was hard at work trying to make a better life for myself and my child. I’m not sure I could have done it without their support,” says Melia.

The Resource and Referral program is a free service. It guides families through the sometimes difficult process of locating quality childcare. The Supplemental Child Care program assists eligible parents by splitting the cost of childcare with the parents.

“It is an incredible honor to help parents like Melia, and getting to witness this every day,” says Joan Wright, Executive Director Childcare Resources. “To see how we affected a family 20 years later is amazing! We are so thankful Melia decided to pick up that phone and let us know the impact we made. Makes all of our hard work worth it!”

Melia is now a homeowner, a wife and mom to 23-year-old Kiera, a high school graduate. “Childcare Resources has no idea how much they helped me,” Melia explained. “I appreciate them for being there for me and my daughter when we needed them the most. My advice to single parents is to always remember hard work pays off and never give up.”

Since 2006, Simon Nakhale and his family played the lottery, the Green Card Lottery. The United States gives 50,000 permanent resident visas to citizens of countries with low immigration rates. In December of 2013, their prayers were answered.

In Nairobi, Kenya, Simon and his wife, Gladys, had respectable jobs. Simon was a trombone player in the military and a skilled carpenter. Gladys taught math, social studies and religion. While their dream of starting a new life in the U.S. was within reach, they had just a few months to pack up everything and everyone.

Along with their four children, aged nine to nineteen, Simon’s family move to the United States, a strange country where they knew just one person, luckily from Seattle.

Upon arrival in Washington, the family struggled to find a place to live. They stayed wherever they could, moving in and out of homeless shelters and friend’s houses. This constant movement made it hard for the couple to find work. After about a month in the U.S., a friend told the Nakhale family about Neighborhood House.

The Good House

Neighborhood House focuses its work on self-sufficiency, financial independence, health and community building. The program, supported by State Farm, program seeks to eliminate or at least reduce poverty in the community, especially in Seattle and King County. Since 1906, they have helped refuges, immigrants, and the poor reach their educational and economic goals.

Empowered Despite the Odds

Neighborhood House helped the Nakhale family find an apartment and assisted with application and deposit costs.

“Having been in the military for so long, our family was not used to living civilian life, so we found ourselves totally overwhelmed with so many choices and places to go in Seattle,” Simon recalled.

Neighborhood House’s Employment Case Manager helped the couple update their resumes and draft cover letters. Gladys desired to continue teaching. Her Employment Case Manager encouraged her to seek volunteer positions to gain experience in American classrooms.

Soon after the 43-year-old began volunteering at a child day care facility, Gladys was offered a paid position. Not too long after that, Simon was able to secure a job as a security guard.

The program also provided the family a financial counselor. They learned about U.S. financial management and websites they could visit to get additional resources. They learned how to call and set up appointments to look at apartments, how to fill out online job applications, and the importance of paying rent on time.

“Most importantly,” said Gladys, “Neighborhood House has stepped in and stood for us while we were trying to establish credit and vouched for us and helped pay our rent.”

Within seven months, both Simon and Gladys had found employment and a place to call home. Today, their focus is on planning for the future. Working with their Employment Case Manager, they are identifying opportunities and trainings to advance in their careers so they can better provide for their children.

Simon calls Neighborhood House his “rescue soldiers,” because the staff know just the right people to contact and they are “efficient at making sure we’re right at home.” -even if that home is 9,000 miles from Nairobi.