The written word warms more than the heart
Despite the average standard of living in North America, almost 750,000 people are living on the streets of America at any given time, plus 300,000 in Canada. Summer weather creates its own issues, but the serious (sometimes mortal) danger for homeless individuals is extremely cold weather. In Toronto, an alert is issued when the weather is expected to reach -15ºC (5ºF), to give agencies serving the homeless additional time to prepare for and reach out to those at risk.
In 2007, Toronto ad agency TAXI prepared to celebrate their 15th year in business by doing something to help their community. Executive creative director Steve Mykolyn developed the first winning idea, The 15 Below Project. Being a clever ad guy, Mykolyn tied together the Cold Weather Alert temperature of -15ºC and TAXI's anniversary...voila, a jacket for the homeless. The jacket had to be portable due to the on-the-move nature of homeless living; versatile and light so it wouldn't be left behind in the summer; low cost, and exceptionally protective in the cold.
The final solution was a jacket made of lightweight black material, a lining that can be stuffed with newspaper or magazines for warmth (or removed for use as a raincoat), convertible into a backpack or a pillow, with a foldaway hood, waterproof zippers, and drawstring cuffs and hem. To test the warmth, an unlucky individual spent the night in a meat locker wearing the jacket.
Clearly it would be better if everyone had a home, but until that time I'll be grateful for the ingenius creativity and compassion of an ad man in Canada. For more information, or to adopt the project as your own, visit http://www.15belowproject.org/.
In 2007, Toronto ad agency TAXI prepared to celebrate their 15th year in business by doing something to help their community. Executive creative director Steve Mykolyn developed the first winning idea, The 15 Below Project. Being a clever ad guy, Mykolyn tied together the Cold Weather Alert temperature of -15ºC and TAXI's anniversary...voila, a jacket for the homeless. The jacket had to be portable due to the on-the-move nature of homeless living; versatile and light so it wouldn't be left behind in the summer; low cost, and exceptionally protective in the cold.
The final solution was a jacket made of lightweight black material, a lining that can be stuffed with newspaper or magazines for warmth (or removed for use as a raincoat), convertible into a backpack or a pillow, with a foldaway hood, waterproof zippers, and drawstring cuffs and hem. To test the warmth, an unlucky individual spent the night in a meat locker wearing the jacket.
Clearly it would be better if everyone had a home, but until that time I'll be grateful for the ingenius creativity and compassion of an ad man in Canada. For more information, or to adopt the project as your own, visit http://www.15belowproject.org/.
Posted by Tammy at 8/5/2009 9:52 PM 
Categories: Design, Eureka!, Eco, Philanthropy
Tags: Design compassion innovation homeless
Categories: Design, Eureka!, Eco, Philanthropy
Tags: Design compassion innovation homeless
I love the new Symphonic Monkey! Great article too -- congrats on reviving your personal blog
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I haven't been here in awhile, but being in the business of helping the poor, I love this creative idea.
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