CityPak To SXSW
Monterey International’s Ron Kaplan and his family’s SBK Foundation are expanding the reach of the charity’s CityPak Project to Austin, Texas, during South By Southwest.
Photo: Courtesy CityPak
A Chicago homeless woman shows off her new CityPak backpack designed by Monterey International’s Ron Kaplan with focus-group input that offers secure, waterproof storage for necessities.
The plan is to give out 1,000 CityPak backpacks – specially designed for the homeless so they have a secure, waterproof way to store and carry their possessions – at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless March 12 at 1 p.m.
Clients of local organizations Caritas, Family Eldercare, Foundation for Homeless, Salvation Army, Trinity Center and Front Steps will be the beneficiaries of the event. Another 750 backpacks will be distributed by local organizations later this year.
Partnering to make the giveaway happen are backpack manufacturer High Sierra, SXSW, Monterey International, AEG, High Road Touring and ad agency GSD&M.
Kaplan previously told Pollstar that seeing homeless people walking around with backpacks made for grammar-school kids or ripped-up plastic bags sparked the idea for the custom-designed. black ballistic nylon bags made large enough to hold bedding, clothes, toiletries, food, water and other necessities.
The project, launched in Chicago in 2012, has since provided 6,050 backpacks to cities including Austin and San Antonio, Texas, Venice, Calif., Maui, Hawaii and Boulder, Colorado.
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