Scot and Jacqueline have made a life’s work of giving back through involvement with a variety of child-oriented non-
Bags
Holly Milne Director of Communications CampMinder
profit and camp programs. These experiences, coupled with their creation of Camp POWER, were heavy influences when they began putting the pieces together for STATE Bags.
GiveBackPacks
They built the company on 4 core beliefs:
1 2 3 4
The need to support kids in our backyard has never been greater. The product has to look great, be fashionable and well-made.
badges that people can earn and proudly sport on their bags simply by doing great things for themselves and the world.” People from across the country have already shared stories at statebags.com that describe how they embody one or more of these core values. There are stories about joining the “Mighty Milers Club” in
STATE BAGS aren’t just backpacks, they’re GiveBackPacks. For every bag purchased, STATE also hand-delivers a backpack to an American student in need; but it doesn’t stop there. BAG DROPS are where the real work is done. A team of PackMen host motivational rallies to not only hand-deliver new backpacks to the kids, but also to leave them with a renewed spirit and belief in themselves. VALUE BADGES can be earned by students who demonstrate the core values STATE was founded upon: Acceptance, Leadership, Knowledge, Conservation, Courage and Health. They encourage each and every child, no matter their background, to make a positive impact on themselves and the world.
The concept needs to be more than just another “buy-one-give-one” model. Kids growing up in low-income communities need more than just material handouts. The program must have built-in continuity. The bags given to kids, and the message that comes with them, must carry on in a long-term way. After a year of strategy, design and production work, STATE Bags – one of the first benefit corporations formed in New York State – was created in January 2013, and its GiveBackPack program hit the ground running! In just their first five months of existence, STATE executed five bag drop events, hand-delivering over 400 bags to American children. Among those were two New York communities hit extremely hard by Hurricane Sandy – Red Hook in Brooklyn and Far Rockaway in Queens. “Each bag drop event is special and unique,” says Scot. “We love going into schools or after-school programs and genuinely shocking them with our presentation. The program is a true blend of an educational workshop, a camp rally and a dance party.” “The main focus of STATE is to support kids growing up in American communities of need,” explains Jacqueline, “but we are also committed to engaging kids and adults of all backgrounds through our Value Badge program. We took the six values our company was founded upon and turned them into tangible
CHANGING THE WORLD
ONE BACKPACK AT A TIME
ive years ago, life-long camp guy, Scot Tatelman, and his wife, Jacqueline, witnessed something that would forever change their lives. The Brooklyn-based couple watched bus loads of inner-city campers arriving at Camp POWER in Pennsylvania carrying all their belongings in trash bags. Observing this distressing scene unfold at camp and spending time with the kids in their impoverished neighborhoods triggered the creation of STATE Bags. The recently-launched benefit corporation is committed to supporting American kids in need through its innovative GiveBackPack program.
gym class to earn the Health Badge, starting a recycling program at school for the Conservation Badge, and running for class president to obtain the Leadership Badge. “We’ve been blown away with the response to the badges, and we are thrilled that our f?6????bV?vv??rV??R?b??vW2?26???rF?g'V?F????5DDR?2?&VG?7V66W76gV????F?fFVBV??RF?&WGFW"F?V?6V?fW2?BF?V?"6???V??F?W2?( ?6?2?7VV??R?D?R4??T?&RW?W&?V?6VB6???BFWfV???V?B7V6??7G2?F?V?"V?W&vWF?2?BV??VR&W6V?FF???7G??R?2?WB??F?W"&V6??v??F?Rv?fT&6?6?&?w&??27V6?w&?V?F'&V???r???7?&F???????F?F?fR?( ?N( ?2&V?????'F?BF?BF?RV??RFV?fW&??rF?R?W76vW2?bF?R&?w&??BF?R&w2&R&??R??FV?2F?F?W6R??G2??W"5DDR6??V??fRv?VB??F?V?"6??W2??f??rw&?v?W??GW&'V?V?B?f??F??R?V?v?&?&???G2F?V?6V?fW2?F?W?FV??W'6???7F?&?W2?b??rF?W?( ?fR7V66W76gV??&?6V?g&??F?W6R7W'&?V?F??w2v?V????F?V'FVBF?W?WfW"v?V?B??N( ?2&V???vW&gV?&W6V?FF???f?"F?R??G2?'WBvR??R7W&RF?W?v?v?g&???B6???rF?W??Bw&VBF??R2vV?? ( ?6?266?B??wwr?6???FW"?6???SB???f??V?R0???V&???&R????R?f?6?B5DDR&w2Bwwr?7FFV&w2?6????SP??