Design-school project for coat/sleeping bag hybrid turned into MI nonprofit the Empowerment Plan, and resources for the homeless.
"Veronika Scott simply wanted to get an 'A'' on her product design project. And she did — with an idea that has changed her life and those of countless others. Now, the coat she created that can transform into a sleeping bag is providing warmth to homeless people and jobs for many who used to be so themselves. Scott, 25, built a nonprofit, the Empowerment Plan, which employs and trains homeless single parents to manufacture the coats that were her project for a class at Detroit's College for Creative Studies four years ago. She believed the coat could help the city's sizable homeless population during the brutal winters." -- Mike Householder, Associated Press