Pittsburgh Steeler Cam Heyward opens Craig’s Closet at Wash High
Students at Washington High School have a new resource to help them dress for success, thanks to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.
Wash High became one of the most recent locations for Craig’s Closet, which provides free dress clothes to high school boys throughout the region.
Heyward and his mother, Charlotte Heyward-Wesley, visited Wash High on Tuesday for the ribbon cutting of Craig’s Closet, named for Cam’s father, former University of Pittsburgh and NFL player Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, who passed away in 2006 at age 39.
Wash High’s Craig’s Closet was stocked with new and gently used suits, dress shirts, pants, jackets, ties, and shoes, and students in need of dress clothes can “shop” for an outfit for special occasions, including interviews, presentations, dances, and internships.
Heyward’s Wash High appearance took place during his fourth annual “Cam’s Kindness Week,” which features daily acts of kindness from Heyward and his foundation, the Heyward House.
The NFL’s 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year, Heyward founded the Heyward House in 2015 as a way to impact and empower youth. Craig’s Closet is one of its outreach projects.
Wash High paraprofessional job coach Joy Cumer worked with the Heyward House team for several months to make arrangements to set up Craig’s Closet in a former storage space in the high school.
“We have a great need. I think it’s an opportunity that a lot of our students wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Cumer. “When you see them trying on the suits, or they find the outfit that they want and they stand in front of the mirror over there and they look at themselves and they square their shoulders, it’s an amazing thing to see.”
Heyward shared with Cumer the story of his father, who was raised in a single-parent home with six siblings and arrived at the University of Pittsburgh with only one suit. He would switch shirts and ties to change the look on game days.
Aware that many young men in the region don’t have the means to own a suit, Heyward came up with the idea for Craig’s Closet.
“With me and my brothers, we always try to honor our dad, and we know we’ve all been given blessings beyond,” Heyward told Steelers.com following the Wash High Craig’s Closet opening. “We’ve had a chance to give back to some high schools and we’re just growing, providing suits for young men, things like ties, shoes. I love hearing the stories of how they feel empowered behind it. When they feel they look good, they feel good about themselves, and that makes them want to play good, or go out and seize the world.”
Heyward met with several Wash High students who have used and/or helped set up Craig’s Closet, and also was introduced to three Wash High students – seniors Alain Crawford, Joe Wilson and Jayden Nemeth – who have been selected as ambassadors for the Heyward House’s annual Suiting Up for Success Soiree.
“Everything has just come together,” said Cumer. “We have suited dozens of students, and we’ve used this room to suit students for senior presentations, ESL graduations, quinceaneros, graduation, and other events. Every pair of shoes was used for Homecoming.”
Cumer said the Heyward House team’s outreach continues beyond setting up Craig’s Closet.
“They send care packages, they call to check in on the students and just to see how we’re doing, what we need,” said Cumer. “There is just a lot of outreach and care. It’s a phenomenal program, and it’s providing our students with opportunities.”