How Gabriel is helping the homeless community of Colorado

Cold temperatures and snowfall in Colorado keep many residents inside for most of the winter. That's not the case for Gabriel, AKA @Colorado_Cadi, who frequently rides his electric skateboards and Onewheel on snow covered trails in temperatures as low as 10 degrees (technically -20 with windchill, because we know he’s maxing out on speed).

It's on these cold winter rides that Gabriel started noticing the overwhelming amount of homeless people camping on the side of his local trails. He himself had experienced what it's like to be stuck outside during these cold months and thought about what he could do to show these people his support. 

He quickly came up with the idea to create 'Cadi Packs' that would carry the essential items to help make a homeless person's life just a little more comfortable. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.

What's in a Cadi Pack?

• Hygiene Kit
• Blanket
• Gloves
• Beanie
• Socks
• Hand Warmers
• Gift card for food

How the homeless community has reacted to Cadi Packs:

On February 8th, 2020 Gabriel was hoping to pass out the first round of 12 Cadi Packs on an electric skateboard group ride that he had been planning for weeks. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans as 6" of snow fell the night before and many riders cancelled. Gabriel wasn't willing to give up that easy so he changed plans and used his Onewheel to hand out the Cadi Packs in snowy conditions. Gabriel wasn't alone, several local Onewheel riders wanted to help him make a difference (and shred snowy conditions) too!

At first, the homeless that he approached were shy but he helped break the ice by showing them how his Onewheel worked. Once they had warmed up to Gabriel, he started passing out the first 7-8 Cadi Packs along with some food to the homeless people around him. One of the men explained that he had just gotten out of the hospital for frostbite and immediately put on the beanie he had just received in his Cadi Pack.

Check out this video Gabriel made of the experience:

Gabriel's goal is to inspire other communities to give back.

Group rides of personal electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular in cities all around the world. Gabriel's hope is  that his Cadi Packs will inspire other groups to think of ways they can turn their group rides into fun, unique ways to give back to their local communities.

If you want to learn more about Gabriel and his Cadi Packs, you can join his Facebook group and follow him on Instagram.

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