Ibrahim Diawara, 16, got his final fitting for a suit on Monday. The student athlete at Boys Latin Charter School needed to look his best for a presentation this week for a pre-college summer real estate program.
[Ads /]
But with a very limited budget and no real knowledge of where to go, he turned to his after-school program Focused Athletics, which helps student athletes prepare for college.
The nonprofit immediately decided to pick up the tab but needed help finding something fast for the towering teen.
"I've worked with (Malcolm Jenkins) on multiple philanthropic things, so I was like let me call Malcolm Jenkins. Malcolm answered instantly and said, 'Absolutely. I don't want a dollar. I want to donate this suit. I want this kid to have a great shot at this program,'" recalled Michelle Miller, a board member with Focused Athletics.
What would usually take weeks to get a custom suit, the former Eagles player did in three days with the help of his Old City store, Damari Savile.
[Ads /]
"Someone that used to be in my shoes as a high school senior is buying me a suit so that I can do well on my next presentation," said Diawara.
SEE ALSO: Philly educator devoted to changing the lives of youth through cooking, reading
And that's not lost on Diawara. He is already being recruited to play football at the University of Pennsylvania.
"I'm real grateful for it," he said. "When he said he was getting me a suit, I was like 'really? a suit?' That's not chump change. That's something that's really going to stick with me," said Diawara. "I'm going to remember this forever."