It’s been said the uniform makes the man, but it doesn’t guarantee veterans a job.
When it comes to finding work, it’s the man wearing the suit who often wins the war.
That’s where Scott Fader comes in.
The 39-year-old Oxford resident is the founder and chairman of Suits for Soldiers, a nonprofit organization that provides veterans with business attire, assistance with resume writing, access to job opportunities, mentoring, legal aid, information technology training and help obtaining benefits.
‘Everything that we offer is free to the veterans,? Fader said. ‘It doesn’t matter what they need. If we can afford it, we help them out. We haven’t turned anybody away. It may take us longer to do some things, but we haven’t told somebody, ‘No, we can’t do it.??
Fader is so passionate about helping veterans because he is one. He served in the U.S. Army from 2010-13, spending nine months in Afghanistan.
‘I just want to help my fellow veterans,? he said. ‘These veterans mean so much to me. This has been nothing but a blessing to myself and to a lot of the veterans who have ost their way.?
The idea for Suits for Soldiers was born in August 2012 while Fader was serving in Afghanistan. While passing through the Kandahar air base, he stopped to chat with his wife, Sara, on Facebook. He was waiting for her to get on-line when he ran across an article about a veteran in California who didn’t get a job simply because he wasn’t dressed in proper business attire.
Instead, the job went to this veteran’s friend, who was less qualified, but wearing a suit. The veteran ‘had a better education, better resume, better everything,? according to Fader, but his friend ‘got the job because of appearance, not because of what was on his resume.?
‘He fit what they we’re looking for visually,? he said.
Fader and his wife contacted a thrift store in California and got a suit donated to this veteran. ‘I jokingly told my wife, ‘Hey, I’m going to start a nonprofit called Suits for Soldiers,?? he said.
But that simple comment soon turned into a mission. ‘That (story) was the motivator,? Fader said. ‘I started doing research into how many veterans didn’t have the proper attire or didn’t have the proper training while they’re trying to exit the army.?
In July 2013, Suits for Soldiers became a reality.
Since then, the organization has given away ‘well over 10,000 pieces of business attire? to Michigan veterans, according to Fader.
‘If somebody comes in and says, ‘I’m a veteran,? I’ll give them a suit,? he said. ‘I just want to see more veterans get jobs.?
Last year, he said Suits for Soldiers helped a little over 300 veterans find jobs.
And those are just the ones that Fader is aware of.
‘A lot of times when they’re hired, they don’t think to call us back and say ‘thank you? because they’re so relieved. They just want to move on with their life,? he said.
Each success story means so much to Fader. ‘I’ll be honest, at least once a day, I get an e-mail that makes me cry,? he said. ‘Somebody who had been struggling for a while now has a job because we introduced them to the right people.?
Veterans continue to flood the group with requests for assistance with resume writing.
‘We get in hundreds, if not a thousand, resumes a month sometimes,? Fader said. ‘We have people who review them, critique them, rewrite them and get them back to (the veterans) every month.?
In February, Suits for Soldiers will launch its Veterans Educational Training (VET) Program consisting of classes in resume writing, interview skills and how to dress. These free classes will be open to both veterans and their family members.
The first class is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25 from 6-8 p.m. at the Rochester Fire Department (277 E. Second St.). The class will be about resume writing strategies, how ‘to stand out and get a job.?
The organization currently assists veterans with all these things, but it’s typically done on a ‘one-on-one? basis, according to Fader. ‘We want to be able to reach more people.?
‘It doesn’t matter if you’ve been out (of the service for) two months or 20 years, these classes will teach veterans the skills they should have learned exiting the military,? he noted.
Fader explained the military is mandated to offer these types of classes to personnel leaving the service, but they’re ‘pointless because even the teachers don’t want to be there.?
He said the military’s classes are not ‘beneficial? because all they do is the ‘bare minimum of what’s required by the government.?
For example, a resume writing class typically consists of just sitting soldiers in front of computers and having them all do the same thing with no individualized instruction or real direction, according to Fader.
‘You get lost in the shuffle if you’ve got the same resume as the guy next to you when you’re applying for jobs,? he said.
In addition to helping veterans gain employment, Suits for Soldiers also aids them in cutting through all the government red tape in order to help get the benefits promised to them by Uncle Sam.
Fader said Suits for Soldiers now includes a young lady who’s an expert in the area of veteran benefits.
‘You take a veteran who’s been applying for his benefits for like a year and getting no response from the Detroit VA (Veterans Administration) ? this young lady can get them a response in a matter of days,? he said. ‘We’ve got a lot of positive feedback because of it.?
Suits for Soldiers is about more than just jobs and government benefits.
‘We do a lot of stuff,? Fader said. ‘It doesn’t matter what the veterans ask for, we try to use our resources to get it if it’s within our means.?
Over the Christmas season, Suits for Soldiers provided complete holiday meals to 30 veteran families.
‘I was out shopping for a bunch of them on Christmas Eve, so that on Christmas morning, they had full meals. They had no food the day before,? Fader said. ‘One of our board members drove all the way out to Grand Rapids to deliver two meals.?
The group also provided some gift cards so some of the children could wake up to presents under the tree.
One of Fader’s favorite stories is about a female veteran who came to Michigan to escape an abusive relationship.
‘She left everything she owned out west,? he said. ?(She) and her two teenage daughters were living in a no-tell-motel in Mt. Clemens.?
At the time Fader heard about her situation, Suits for Soldiers was holding a benefit concert to raise funds for veterans.
The group decided to give her some money to help her and her family get back on their feet.
Fader said the next day, another female veteran with two kids came to stay at the same motel.
‘She gave her half the money (from Suits for Soldiers) to help,? he said. ‘She paid it forward. She could have had $2,250 to do whatever she wanted to get restarted, but that lady was just so gracious. She paid it forward 100 percent the next day. Ninety-nine percent of people would have kept (all) the money for themselves.?
‘That’s a big reason why I do this,? Fader continued. ‘I hope people pay it forward. After you get a job, you help somebody else get a job.?
While helping his fellow veterans is largely its own reward, Fader’s involvement in Suits for Soldiers also helps him cope with memories of his own military experiences.
‘This is kind of like my mental Band-Aid,? he said. ‘I get to help somebody and I get to talk to people about what I went through and what they went through.?
Looking to the future, Fader would ultimately like to expand Suits for Soldiers on a national scale so that it’s in every major city and every state.
‘If I could franchise it like a McDonald’s, I would,? he said. ‘I want to make sure every veteran that is homeless finds a home and if they’re jobless, they find a job.?
Please visit www.suitsforsoldiers.org for more information or call (248) 757-8829. Check out Suits for Soldiers on Facebook as well.