from staff
Robert S. Bryan Jr. has been appointed as the new executive director of Dignity U Wear, the locally-based, national nonprofit that provides brand new clothing to men, women and children in need. The announcement was made by T. Parker McCrary, chair of the Dignity U Wear board of directors.
Bryan comes to Jacksonville and Dignity U Wear from Raleigh, N.C. where he served as president of the Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for the past five years. For the 12 years prior to that, he held various administrative positions at North Carolina State University, including director of student development and associate vice chancellor and executive director of the N.C. State Alumni Association.
“Bob has a strong track record of leadership and has successfully grown the organizations he’s been involved with,” said McCrary. “He has great vision, knows how to develop people and build innovative, efficient organizations. He’s the ideal person to take Dignity U Wear to the next level. As we grow our business, increase sources of funding and generate additional revenue, we will have the ability to expand our reach and help even more people. We have high expectations of what Bob will be able to accomplish.”
Dignity U Wear was founded in 2000 and distributes brand new clothing it receives from manufacturers and retailers through a network of 300 recipient nonprofit agencies in 30 states. Over the years, the organization has provided more than 4.4 million pieces of clothing, valued at $71 million, to more than 354,000 people. Locally, the organization has donated clothing valued at more than $20 million through 70 Northeast Florida-area nonprofits.
The nonprofit does not receive any city, state or federal government grants or funding and operates exclusively on private donations from individuals, corporations and private foundations. Volunteers help process 100 percent of the incoming inventory, providing 95 percent of the time and labor necessary to accomplish the task.