Zac Weinberg with a ZACPAC. Three thousand ZACPACs, each containing a waterproof sleeping bag, a food item and hand sanitizer, will be distributed to people experiencing homelessness in Metro Vancouver. (Photo credit: CNW Group/Weinberg Foundation Inc.)

By Pete McIntyre

alcohol-free product

Local business lends hand to teen’s homeless project

Apr 12, 2022 | 10:00 AM

A Coldstream business is donating products to help the homeless in B.C.s most populous area.

Back To Earth is providing over 3,000 tubes of alcohol-free sanitizer for an initiative led a 14-year-old West Vancouver boy.

Zac Weinberg is bringing back his ZACPAC, a dry-bag containing items to bring comfort to those in need.

In 2020, Weinberg and a team of volunteers, distributed 2,200, 20-litre ZACPACs in Vancouver, and this year the target is 3,000, 30-litre ZACPACs for Metro Vancouver.

Each ZACPAC will contain a waterproof sleeping bag, a non-perishable food item and a tube of alcohol-free hand sanitizer.

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“The pandemic only made the homelessness crisis in my city worse,” said Weinberg. “I want to provide comfort to those in need while raising awareness that much more must be done to create affordable housing in Metro Vancouver.”

Weinberg and his team of volunteers will be assembling the ZACPACs and distributing them through 40 community organizations early next week, April 12 and 13, at the Paradox Hotel in downtown Vancouver.

Kiley Routley from Back to Earth told Vernon Matters they were honored to be a part of the ZACPAC project this year.

“I was introduced to Zac after a zoom meeting with Zac’s father, Martin Weinburg, where I spoke of Back to Earth’s mandate of giving back to people in need,” Routley said. “Martin then told me about his tenacious 14-year-old son Zac who had started a program called the “Zac Pack” to support people that are experiencing homelessness in Vancouver.

“What made our product appealing is that it is alcohol-free. Alcohol hand sanitizers are extremely flammable and pose a major risk. Our anti-microbial hand sanitizer also aids in sterilization where hand washing may be difficult,” Routley explained.