Texas retailer Gary Dante of SuitMart rang in the holiday season on December 5th with an apparel giveaway at his Houston.“ This is the fourth year we’ve done this,” says Dante (above, center, with Houston’s mayor elect, former Senator John Whitmire, right). “We collect merchandise from vendors and take some out-of-season goods from our stores and donate them to people in need. We had nice participation from vendors this year, so we had a lot of product to give. At first, we were giving 20 units of apparel per person, but realized we weren’t moving enough goods, so we started giving away 40 units per person!”
Dante promoted the program with a public service announcement on local television and radio, and had flyers distributed at local churches, non-profits, and schools. 42 volunteers helped set up the in-store event, and they moved more than 150 people through the store in a seven-hour period.
“This was the best year we’ve had,” says Dante. “We had pastors from local churches stopping by, as well as our current mayor and two mayoral candidates.”
Donated products included suits, shoes, sportswear, ties, and belts for men, women, and boys. At the end of the day non-profit organizations were invited to take any remaining merchandise.
While Dante thought this was going to be the last year for the giveaway, he’s already making plans for 2024.
