Citypak For 1000 Homeless Neighbors
The CITYPAK Project, which has produced over 45,000 backpacks for 118 cities in North America, and The People Concern, a leading nonprofit dedicated to ending (not managing) homelessness, are partnering up to distribute 1000 specially-designed backpacks to homeless individuals across Los Angeles County! By contributing to our goal of raising money for 1000 CITYPAK backpacks, you are helping The People Concern work towards a Los Angeles where everyone is housed, healthy, and safe. There are tens of thousands of our homeless neighbors in need of a secure way to store their personal belongings while we solve this humanitarian crisis. Help us help them!
How You Can Help
Your generous donation will go toward a CITYPAK backpack (produced by CITYPAK in conjunction with High Sierra) for a homeless person in need.
Your donation also helps individuals receive homeless services. Distributing donations such as these give The People Concern's outreach teams the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with those experiencing homelessness and the ability to help those individuals connect to needed services - interim housing, permanent housing with continued ongoing supportive services, domestic violence services, medical and mental healthcare, substance abuse services, wellness & life skills programs, and income assistance
Your donation will directly impact someone’s life.
The Costs
Each backpack costs $30 to produce. CITYPAK , Selma Breskin Kaplan Foundation, and High Sierra have generously offered to match donations. For every $16 ($15 + $1 to help us with GoFundMe’s fee of 7.9% + $0.30 per donation) you contribute toward production cost, they will subsidize the remainder of the cost to produce one backpack ($15).
Our Goal
Our goal is set to $16,000, the cost it will take for us to raise money for 1000 backpacks (accounting for GoFundMe’s fee of 7.9% + $0.30 per donation)
If we reach over our goal of $16,000, we will be able to acquire even more backpacks for distribution (one extra backpack for every $16).
The Backpack
While living on the street, material possessions are often subject to the elements or theft. Our goal in this partnership with CITYPAK is to provide safe, versatile, and dignified backpacks specially designed for the unique needs of those experiencing homelessness.
· Extra-tough exterior ballistic nylon material to withstand environmental factors
· Side compression to reduce excess space
· A poncho that covers both body and backpack
· Load bearing straps to evenly distribute weight of heavy loads
· Cinch-top closure and webbing loops to keep the backpack secure from theft
· Reflective strips for traveling at night
· Straps to secure bedding and other items
· Extra-loud Velcro to alert the individual of theft
· Specialized pouches for items such as medication or important documents
· Large mesh pockets made for large containers
Who is The People Concern?
The People Concern is a 501(c)(3) social services nonprofit organization in Los Angeles. We provide outreach and supportive services (medical, mental health, substance abuse, income, domestic violence, and wellness services) to the most vulnerable in our community, followed by placing individuals into interim and permanent housing with continued supportive services. One of Los Angeles County’s largest social services agencies, The People Concern is a leading provider of, and advocate for, evidence-based solutions to the multi-faceted challenges inherent in homelessness and domestic violence. 95% of individuals in permanent supportive housing provided through wraparound services by The People Concern are never homeless again. www.thepeopleconcern.org
About The CITYPAK Project :
The CITYPAK Project is a not-for-profit philanthropic organization that works to provide custom designed backpacks to homeless persons in need. Founded by Chicago businessman and philanthropist Ron Kaplan in 2012, The CITYPAK Project provides a safe, convenient, and versatile backpack uniquely designed to meet the constantly changing needs of the homeless. Inspired by the simple desire to create something that would make life on the streets of Chicago a little easier, Kaplan shared his idea with the design team at the international adventure travel gear manufacturer High Sierra. Today, with the help of High Sierra, a growing list of corporate and individual donors, and a variety of local and regional non-profit partners, The CITYPAK Project distributes CITYPAKs in growing list of cities across the U.S. The ongoing goal: to design and provide a useful, high quality backpack for the homeless. www.citypak.org
About High Sierra :
A division of Samsonite LLC, High Sierra designs feature-rich, versatile outdoor lifestyle gear for adventurers everywhere. Since our founding in 1978, we’ve committed ourselves to creating durable, affordable product with distinctive details, delivering the freedom to go anywhere—near or far, on roads or trails, on mountain ridges or snowy slopes, no matter what form your adventure takes. In 2012, High Sierra formed a design partnership with the Chicago-based CITYPAK Project [501(c)(3)] to create purposeful, utilitarian backpacks for the homeless. High Sierra is also proud to be the Official Bags supplier to the U.S. Ski, U.S. Snowboarding, and U.S. Freeskiing teams. High Sierra. Adventure This Way. www.highsierra.com
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