Number 134
Image source: ABLE Made
Able Made and UMBF Weave Sustainable Fashion for Youth Empowerment
Featured Focus:
Youth Development,
Health + Wellness, Social Enterprises
Scope of Impact:
National
Scouting Report: When Suzanne McKenzie’s husband tragically died while playing soccer, she transformed this profound personal loss into a powerful dual mission, establishing a non-profit and a sustainable fashion brand. Here’s what you should know:
Legacy of Purpose: Born from the tragic passing of her husband, Ucal McKenzie, the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation (UMBF) empowers underserved youth through affordable soccer camps and vital health education, directly challenging the "pay-to-play" model.
Fashion with a Mission: ABLE Made, McKenzie's ethical fashion label, serves as a direct funding vehicle for UMBF. It champions sustainable and upcycled materials, fair labor, and a "runway-inspired, ready-to-wear" aesthetic, pushing against the fashion industry's status quo.
Synergistic Impact: This integrated hybrid model ensures that every ABLE Made purchase directly supports UMBF's programs, creating a resilient, authentic, and mutually reinforcing engine for social good that resonates deeply with conscious consumers and partners.
The hybrid model, where Able Made directly funds the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation, ensures sustainable revenue for vital youth programs, moving beyond traditional philanthropic reliance.
Suzanne McKenzie’s ventures are the definition of a WIN | WIN. UMBF's holistic approach, integrating soccer with critical health education like CPR/AED training, addresses fundamental community needs and fosters well-rounded development beyond athletics. Their annual youth soccer camps in Connecticut, New York, and Boston have become a huge success and staple in the areas, with camps planned in more cities the future.
Simultaneously, Able Made's unwavering commitment to ethical and sustainable fashion challenges an industry often criticized for its environmental and social footprint, proving that profitability and purpose can coexist. Her partnerships with the Boston Legacy and the Brooklyn WFC paves the way to more collaboration in the future, and even a possible expansion to Europe.
This venture exemplifies how strategic design and female leadership can drive meaningful change, inspiring a new standard for values-driven brands.
With the 2026 World Cup coming to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Able Made and UMBF have the opportunity to raise awareness of their mission and gain a new international audience.
We’d love to see partnerships with a few nations to bring the cost of their youth camps to $0 during the World Cup. We would also like to see Able Made partner with more star players to raise their profiles with a larger chunk of the soccer community.
We can’t ask you to drop everything and start your own brand, but we’d love for you to dive deeper into the story behind UMBF and Able Made and how this inverted model could work for organizations in your network.
