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The drive helps Gables High players dress professionally on game days. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Boxes and bags fill with clothing for players. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Adhys Obeso and Nikola Novakovic. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Amanda Bonifay, Don Slesnick and John Allen with donations for players. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Amanda Bonifay, Jeremy Caldwell and Annie Seibert. Photo by Betty Alvarez

April Dojnia and Marcos Monroy. Photo by Betty Alvarez

April Dojnia, Amanda Bonifay and Jake Roffman. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Don Slesnick, Raul Mendez, Amanda Bonifay, Silvia & Ernesto Perez. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Eric Marin and Jake Roffman. Photo by Betty Alvarez

John Allen, Marc Berenfeld, Jerry Santeiro, Andria Hanley, Don Slesnick and Adhys Obeso. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Mary Snow, Erin and Paul Briede. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Michael and Susana Gold. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Patricia Wright and Adriana Brandt. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Tony Rogers and Albert Regueira. Photo by Betty Alvarez

Game days will be a little dressier for football players this season at Coral Gables Senior High School, thanks to an outpouring of support at the recent “Dress Shirt & Tie Drive” organized by the Ponce Society of Young Professionals.

Guests at the Aug. 16 happy hour event at Cibo Wine Bar, 45 Miracle Mile, generously donated new or slightly used dress shirts and ties to help players follow in the tradition of wearing business attire to school on game days.

An especially meaningful donation came from Cathy Zuckerman Dee, whose late husband Paul served in a number of key positions at the University of Miami, including athletic director and general counsel, for over 30 years. Mr. Dee, 65, passed away on May 12, and Mrs. Dee donated a number of his wardrobe items and ties to the team.

“I’m in awe,” said Cavaliers Coach Roger Pollard, who instituted the dress-up tradition on game days to inspire an air of professionalism among the players. “If even one tie was donated, that was special. For his wife to donate something that was so close to her, I think it speaks measures. It speaks bounds. It was a pleasant surprise and very, very powerful.”

The Ponce Society of Young Professionals is a newly formed committee of the Coral Gables Community Foundation. The group supports the Foundation’s mission of enhancing the quality of life for people who live or work in Coral Gables and recruits young professionals to get involved in the 20-year-old foundation.

For more information call 305-446-9670 or email [email protected]. Follow the group on twitter @PonceSociety and on Facebook.

Photos by Betty Alvarez / Events Photographer