Positively Detroit

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wayne State University has successfully reached the $750 million goal for its comprehensive fundraising campaign, Pivotal Moments: Our Campaign for Wayne State University, three months early. Alumni and friends will still have time to participate as the campaign moves toward its targeted close date of September 30, 2018.

"This is a very special moment for Wayne State," President M. Roy Wilson said. "This campaign was timed to conclude this year while celebrating our 150th anniversary, and we have been embracing our look back while working toward the future. The impact of the support we received from our alumni, friends, and faculty and staff during Pivotal Moments — nearly 84,000 donors and counting — is already being felt and will endure for decades."

Publicly launched in October 2014, Pivotal Moments is Wayne State's most ambitious fundraising campaign, supporting students and programs throughout the university. The campaign focuses on key priorities of student success, research and faculty support, facilities and spaces, and community outreach.

The primary fundraising goal involves student support. In that area, more than $125 million has been raised to create new or enhance existing scholarship funds for students. Another key goal of the campaign is for at least one-quarter of funds raised to be new gifts toward the university's endowment. To date, the amount of new endowment commitments has exceeded the goal by five percent. An additional $23.7 million has been designated for non-endowed scholarship support.

Over $90 million has been raised to support faculty members in their research and teaching, and more than $60 million has been raised to build or refurbish campus facilities. Nearly $35 million of the campaign total has come from gifts of $1,000 or less. Around 50 percent of funds that have come from individual donors are from non-alumni.

"Wayne State has been in Detroit making an impact for 150 years," said Susan Burns, vice president of development and alumni affairs. "The gifts received during this campaign allow us to look forward, build on our strengths and take students and faculty to higher levels of achievement."

To mark the end of the successful campaign, in tandem with its 150th anniversary, Wayne State will host a special on-campus celebration on Friday, October 26, 2018.

Some of the significant gifts in support of Wayne State throughout the Pivotal Moments campaign include:

• $40 million from Mike and Marian Ilitch for the Mike Ilitch School of Business, the largest gift in university history; also $8.5 million for the School of Medicine to create the Ilitch Chair for Surgical Innovation in the Department of Surgery. The department was renamed the Michael and Marian Ilitch Department of Surgery.

• $25 million from James A. Anderson '66 BSCE, '70 MSCE and his wife, Patricia, to promote entrepreneurship through the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute

• $10 million from Mort Harris '11 LL.D. to support students in the highly competitive Wayne Med-Direct program

• $10 million joint gift from Stephen M. Ross '65 J.D. and Dan Gilbert '87 J.D. for the Law School

• $9.5 million from philanthropist and jazz enthusiast Gretchen Valade for the Gretchen Valade Jazz Center and the jazz studies program

For information, contact: Brian Escamilla via email at brian.escamilla@wayne.edu or call 313-577-8389.

11th Annual Suit Drive collect donations of gently used professional attire to help job seekers

PRNewswire/ -- As Men's Wearhouse continued its 11th annual Suit Drive last month, the company teamed up with football star Chris Long to collect donations of gently-used professional attire for unemployed Americans. Attire collected at Men's Wearhouse stores will be distributed to more than 150 local non-profit organizations across the country that help disadvantaged individuals regain employment through job readiness programs and workforce assistance.

As a competitive athlete and leader on the field, Long knows that being prepared is key to accomplishing goals.

"Training for the upcoming season, I can personally relate to the feeling of empowerment when you suit up for a day on the field," said Long. "When you're getting ready for a job interview, it's similar to preparing for a game – you need to approach it with a positive, confident attitude. By donating to the Men's Wearhouse Suit Drive, you're helping people head into their next interview with the right mindset to score the job."

Men's Wearhouse also partnered with both the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) and the National Hockey League Coaches Association (NHLCA) to generate awareness for the Men's Wearhouse Suit Drive. Coaches including Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Kenny Atkinson (Brooklyn Nets), Fred Hoiberg (Chicago Bulls), Rick Carlisle (Dallas Mavericks), John Stevens (Los Angeles Kings), Jeff Blashill (Detroit Red Wings) and others donated suits of their own.

"Our strength as a team helped us win the championship this year, and we want to use that same team mentality to rally our communities to come out and support the Men's Wearhouse Suit Drive," said Coach Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors. "This continues to be an important cause for the NBCA in helping Americans put their best foot forward as they seek employment."

Over the past ten years, the Men's Wearhouse Suit Drive has collected more than 1.6 million items of professional clothing. People can donate their gently-used professional clothing, including men's and women's suits, ties, jackets, shirts, pants, belts and shoes at more than 750 Men's Wearhouse locations across the country. As a thank you, donors received 50 percent off their next purchase of regular priced retail items (excluding shoes, clearance, custom and Exceptional Value items).

"We're proud to support the Men's Wearhouse Suit Drive for the second year in a row," said Gerard Gallant, head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. "It was a privilege to partner with Men's Wearhouse and call upon our fellow coaches, fans and players to donate towards this life-changing cause."