Free backpacks for homeless

An organization will be in Lake County on Thursday distributing free customized backpacks to the homeless. The Citypak Project will be at United Protestant Church, 54 S. Whitney St. in Grayslake starting at 6:30 p.m. Citypak then will move southeast to St. Mary of Vernon Catholic Church in Vernon Hills for backpack distribution beginning at 7:30 p.m. Citypak is assisting PADS of Lake County, which has helped at least 1,900 homeless individuals in the past year. Most PADS clients keep all of their belongings in one or two bags. Citypak plans 17 backpack distributions in the Chicago area through December. Citypak representatives said the backpacks are designed to stand up to harsh winter weather and have many compartments to keep belongings safe. The music industry’s Ron Kaplan launched Citypak.