LOS ANGELES—It’s not hyperbolic to suggest Irongate’s Will Bennett is a “give you the shirt off his back” kind of guy. While building his career and influence in West Coast development as managing director of a full-service real estate development firm focused on vacation destinations, he also runs a charity project called Shirt Off My Back (SOMB), which covers the cost of school attendance—including uniforms—for children in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are design-driven developers. I think that is what really sets us apart. It stems from the top. Our founder, Jason Grosfeld, is really passionate about design, and we try to marry amazing design with the best brands in the world. Our current projects include The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach; Aspen Lift One; and the Four Seasons Resort and Residences at Costa Palmas,” said Bennett.
In his spare time, Bennett’s passion project is SOMB. Since its inception nine years ago, the organization has sent 50,000 children to school in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. SOMB has received public support from celebrities including actresses Eva Longoria and Nina Dobrev, as well as rapper Common.
“My friends—James Williams, Chris Norqual, Anders Bard and Anson Carter—and I started Shirt Off My Back as a way to give back. We all recognized the tremendous opportunities our own education had afforded us,” said Bennett. “James and I had a special connection to Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and we firmly believed in Nelson Mandela’s famous quote: ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ So, we launched a charity focused on helping educate underprivileged children in these countries.”
A Latin phrase from high school also propels their actions: non sibi. “Pretty much every morning the school assembly preached a lesson on living a life ‘not for oneself,’” he said. “SOMB is certainly a reflection of that.”
The group started with school uniforms. In many African countries, the law requires children to wear school uniforms to attend school, Bennett explained.
“While there are often no direct school fees, many children cannot attend school for the sole reason that their parents are unable to pay for them to have a school uniform. SOMB works to provide school uniforms to the children who are most in need, giving them access to an education and the opportunity to realize their potential and achieve a better life,” he said. “One hundred percent of all donations have gone to the purchase of school uniforms or to the building of classrooms.”
SOMB benefits from having no overhead and, to date, the organization has donated thousands of school uniforms to benefit children in Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“One of our favorite organizations we have worked with is the Masibambisane Centre, located in the distressed community of Eldorado Park, in southern Johannesburg. The center cares for 217 children; the majority of the children are orphans and affected with HIV,” he said. “The organization is run by a friend of ours named Matome who inspires me.”
Getting the project off the ground wasn’t easy. Small NGOs helped them deliver the uniforms, but then things changed.
“Our website and support from the entertainment community made them assume we were large and well-funded, not just a group of friends working out of each other’s living rooms. They demanded that we purchase an SUV for them for distribution. We turned to other NGOs, but they couldn’t promise that the uniforms wouldn’t be confiscated and resold by opportunistic criminals,” he said. “Then the country restricted our ability to manufacture uniforms locally. We saw our whole foundation’s premise start to crumble. We pursued contacts in South Africa and Nigeria, but found both to be cost prohibitive.”
The friends never gave up hope. They had heard about Gabrielle Fondiller, a former classmate who founded an NGO in Kenya dedicated to alleviating under education and poverty.
“In 2011, SOMB did its first uniform drop in Kenya, outfitting hundreds of needy children Gabi identified. SOMB had an on-the-ground ambassador that we trusted. From there we were introduced to more partners and organizations like the Golang Outreach Center, Masibambisane Centre, and Masicorp that we have a long history with now,” he said. “It was challenging though, particularly because we care about manufacturing the uniforms locally to help stimulate the economy.”
Bennett noted that there’s zero overhead and every single dollar goes directly to the children. It’s something that is important to them.
“To date, we have helped send over 10,000 children to school. My goal would be for SOMB to continue forever and to continue to go on donation trips with James, Anders, Chris and Anson and to see the impact directly. I would also love to take many more people on these trips to hopefully inspire them to become involved,” he said. “We have been discussing what is next and, I think, we ultimately would like to build our own school. The last few years we have built classrooms for some of the organizations we work with and that has been an amazing extension of our mission. But, maybe we could create a SOMB school. I would love that.”