Helping the Homeless Becomes Fashionable!
Veronika Scott, center, founder and CEO of The Empowerment Zone, a non-profit organization, was the guest speaker at the Dec. 7 luncheon meeting of Grosse Pointe Rotary. She was introduced by Jenny Boettcher, right, of the Program Committee, and President Fred Ollison III, left. Scott started her venture as a college project to create a humanitarian product which focused on the homeless. For three days a week over a five-month period, she interviewed people at a homeless shelter and came up with the concept of making a coat that doubled as a sleeping bag. The idea became much more than a college project. Using humor and colorful language, Scott talked about how she learned to sew and, after numerous attempts at a functional product, she finally saw some success. It was at this time that she approached her college (College for Creative Studies) for funding. The college put her in touch with Carhartt Inc., which supplied her with sewing machines and material and personal check from Carhartt CEO Mark Valade. Today, Scott has a facility that has hired 30 people from the homeless shelter to make the coats. The organization is on pace to make 6,500 coats this year and has shipped them to 30 states and around the world. Below, President Ollison tried on the coat for the homeless, which, he said, was quite warm and comfortable! To learn more about the organization, go to www.empowermentplan.org. To watch a You Tube video that highlights the organization’s work, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo-
