Empowerment Plan coats transform into sleeping bags to provide life-saving protection and warmth from the elements
SAN DIEGO, CA – October 10, 2024: Today for World Homeless Day, the Lucky Duck Foundation will begin distributing its first of 4,500 heavy-duty sleeping bag coats to unsheltered homeless San Diegans to provide life-saving warmth and protection from the cold and rainy season. This is an expansion of the Lucky Duck Foundation’s initiative which over the past several winters has purchased and distributed more than 12,500 coats that made a tremendous, life-saving impact.
The coats are manufactured by the Empowerment Plan, a Detroit-based nonprofit that has served as a pillar in the city of Detroit for over a decade, helping over 150 families overcome homelessness and producing more than 85,000 EMPWR coats, which have been distributed across all 50 states and 20 countries worldwide. The weather-resistant coats fold out into a sleeping bag, can be worn as a shoulder bag, and are made from recycled and donated materials. Each coat costs $150.
Lucky Duck Foundation CEO Drew Moser and Empowerment Plan Founder & CEO Veronika Scott will kick-off this year’s campaign on Thursday, October 10, at 12pm at the Third Avenue Charitable Organization (TACO). This will also kick-off the Empowerment Plan’s Project 10 initiative which commemorates World Homeless Day by distributing sleeping bag coats to 1,000 individuals in need across 10 major cities. In San Diego, Timmy’s Place will provide pizza for media attendees as well as all unsheltered individuals who visit TACO will receive a sleeping bag coat.
“As winter approaches, these sleeping bag coats are increasingly critical for those facing homelessness by providing warmth and protection from the elements. But they’re no substitute for real shelter,” said Drew Moser, CEO of the Lucky Duck Foundation. “We continue to call on local elected officials to provide more shelter beds, detox beds, and other immediate pathways off the streets. In the meantime, the least we can do is help alleviate suffering with these coats, and, we encourage the public to support this effort by donating.”
To view the coat and support this initiative, please visit: https://www.luckyduckfoundation.org/provide-sleeping-bag-coats/
About the Lucky Duck Foundation
Since 2005, The Lucky Duck Foundation (LDF) has raised funds and awareness for numerous charitable causes throughout San Diego. In 2017, due to the growing homelessness epidemic, LDF pivoted to focus on providing aid and relief for individuals and families suffering from homelessness. Since then, LDF and its co-founders, Pat & Stephanie Kilkenny, have funded, activated, and led several high-impact programs that alleviate the suffering of homelessness throughout San Diego County, including bridge shelters, employment and job training, research, permanent supportive housing, outreach, and more. Originally called the AGIA Foundation (Arrowhead General Insurance Agency), the name was changed to the Lucky Duck Foundation to honor the Kilkenny family’s Irish heritage and as a nod to their love of the University of Oregon. The premise is simple: if you have had some good luck and fortune in your life, share your luck with those less fortunate. And, all donations are matched by Pat & Stephanie, up to $1.5 million per year.
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About Empowerment Plan
Empowerment Plan is a Detroit-based nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness through employment and social services. The organization provides full-time jobs to individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness, training them to manufacture innovative EMPWR coats, which transform into sleeping bags. By equipping its employees with job skills and stability, Empowerment Plan empowers them to achieve financial independence, while distributing life-saving coats to those in need across the world. Since its inception, Empowerment Plan has distributed over 85,000 coats across 50 states and 20 countries. For more information, visit www.empowermentplan.org
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