14 graduates from Airdrie high schools and one from Calgary are now on their way to the "Best Dressed" list at their high school graduations thanks to the generosity of the Airdrie Dads group.  

Mike Reist, a member of Airdrie Dads and organizer of the Adopt-A-Grad project presented some of the students with certificates for brand new suits and other accessories yesterday (May 3) in a ceremony held at Airdrie City Hall.

Reist says he knew there was a need when he first brought up the idea at Bert Church High School.  "When I met with one of the Principals, Miss Johnson at Bert Church back in October, and explained what I was looking to do, she explained that there were at least 70 students who couldn't afford grad dinner tickets so right there that told me that there was a need for suits.  You can't go wrong with a brand new suit given to a student to help them get to their grad.  They work together for three years with their friends and peers.  They want to be able to enjoy their night with their friends and go on to the next chapter of their lives."

Reist explains that the Dads group raised $7,000 in just seven and a half weeks, mostly by taking donations of bottles, as well as cash donations and donations of auction items.  The money was enough that, along with buying the suits, the group presented cheques of over $1,000 to each of the three Airdrie high schools that participated, Bert Church, W.H. Croxford and George McDougall.

Airdrie Dads have become well known in the community for acts of generosity including helping the Straschnitzki family as Ryan recovers following the Humboldt bus tragedy, their annual Charity Golf Tournament, and many other fundraisers.  Reist says the Dads are simply looking to help the community.

"We're all dads.  We may not agree on everything but we've got kids to put to bed and roofs over their heads.  We want to be able to provide the necessary needs, anyway we can, whether it's putting food on the table for other families, putting suits on kids, helping with yard work or helping somebody move.  We're just about the community and we're seeing the tangible effect on the community.  This is real-time results and I think that's what Airdrie Dads are about.  Real-time results for their charity work.  We've got 2,900 men and we figured, how can we utilize our numbers as a group."

With the success of this year's Adopt-A-Grad project, Reist jokes that he doesn't think he has a choice of whether or not to do it again next year. 

"I'm looking to do bigger and better things next year.  I'm hoping to involve all the highs schools next year, including St. Martin de Porres.  I hope there'll be a better involvement from the community.  I think this is a good indication of what the community can do and we can make it bigger and better for next year." 

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