The city of Detroit has been known for its high rates of poverty, homelessness and joblessness. One young entrepreneur decided to create a solution for the numerous homeless in Detroit. Michigan gets very cold during the winter and many homeless are left on the streets if they don’t find a spot in a shelter for the night. American social entrepreneur Vernonika Scott is the CEO and founder of The Empowerment Plan. The Empowerment Plan is a Detroit-based non-profit organization that creates coats that also double as sleeping bags. The coat unfolds to reveal a warm, insulated sleeping bag. During the summer, the coat can also be folded up and a strap is created out of the arms so it can be easily carried. Veronika has done amazing things with her entrepreneurship skills, and she’s only 26 years old!

The mission according to their website is:

Our goal is to help build a better life for those that have become trapped in the cycle of homelessness. We mostly hire homeless parents from local shelters to become full time seamstresses so that they can earn a stable income, find secure housing, and gain back their independence for themselves and for their families.

Not only does Veronika’s company help the homeless by supplying them with coats/sleeping bags, but her company even employs the formerly homeless! (All of the workers at The Empowerment Plan have since found homes.)

To watch a video about the good work that The Empowerment Plan is doing in Detroit, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo-kvh1w60w

As winter approaches, stay warm, Detroit!

To start, you probably only want to read this if you are a girl, but the decision is ultimately up to you, reader.

“Period Proof Underwear: Thinx”

Co-founder and CEO, Miki Agrawal, created the company THINX with her twin sister Radha. These two sisters had the ingenious idea to create a product for women around the world that would truly solve an annoying, and expensive problem. Miki and Radha created period proof underwear. They now produce these underwear and sell them online.  Miki and her company are entering into a $15 billion industry. Innovations in this industry seldom occur, so THINX is really changing the business.

THINX is also a social enterprise! Miki has the goal of making THINX available to girls and women in third world countries. Often, in third world countries, there aren’t affordable or useful solutions for women in this area. Many girls and women are not able to work or go to school during their time of the month. This greatly inhibits women’s productivity in school, a job or at home.

Miki was names 2015 Social Entrepreneur of the Year at the World Technology Awards and her company THINX was named Time Magazine’s “25 Best New Inventions of 2015”. Miki and THINX have won other awards also in their tireless effort to serve their customers well but also to help make the world a better place.