Matthew Trebek and Julie Androshick, Vice President of Development at The Doe Fund, met at St. Matthew’s Baptist Church in Harlem. “His staff from OSO were cooking for and serving homeless people on a regular basis. I was so inspired by this, and the fact that Matt was so open to becoming involved with our program—especially with our annual Dishes by Doe culinary event.”

Julie, who assisted in coordinating the donation of Alex Trebek’s suits to The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able program, joined the team a few years ago at the request of its founders, George and Harriet McDonald. Julie has been instrumental in her role in managing fundraising efforts for the organization.

“We have an incredibly loyal base of individual, corporate, and foundation donors,” Julie continues, “and we meet new ones each day who see how essential and transformative Ready, Willing & Able is and who want to become engaged. Of course, I consider Matthew Trebek to be one of our most committed supporters.”

Harriet McDonald, President of The Doe Fund, said upon learning of the organized effort to donate Alex Trebek’s suits to their Ready, Willing & Able program, “The generous donation of these stylish suits will help the men we serve, who are often uncomfortable and unfamiliar with promoting themselves as part of an interview process, regain their confidence.They will not just look, but truly feel the part of a responsible employee, a taxpayer, a role model to their community, and a contributing and present father to their children.”

“A big part of our workforce development program,” Harriet continues, “revolves around interview prep and workplace etiquette; professional attire plays an important role in both. And of course, these suits save our men the expense of having to purchase their own. Suffice to say, we are extremely grateful for your generosity!”

“The Doe Fund has always believed that environment influences attitude. The same is true for clothing,” says co-founder and President Harriet McDonald. “When the Men in Blue first began cleaning city streets, we made sure to put them in bright blue uniforms with the American flag on the sleeve. We did this because we wanted them to feel like they were part of something bigger than themselves. We wanted to rekindle their self-worth and help them recognize their inherent dignity and value. After all, who doesn’t love a man in uniform?”

Supervising Producer and long time friend, Rocky Schmidt, said on behalf of the Jeopardy! crew, “Alex was a huge proponent of helping people get a second chance at a happy, successful life. The work of the Doe Fund does exactly that, and the team at Jeopardy! is happy and proud that we can support those efforts.”