Backpack Project MN, 3500 46th Avenue N, Robbinsdale, MN (2026)

Backpack Project MN is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps homeless young people in the Twin Cities Metro area of Minneapolis and St. Backpack Project MN is simple:
We provide backpacks filled with daily-use personal care items to homeless youth in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. All of our backpacks are distributed by experienced outreach personnel at shelters and resource centers. How do we do it? Volunteers collect donated backpacks and items from our supply list and assemble the packs for distribution. We use monetary donations to purchase items from the supply list that have not been donated. Once assembled, we deliver all of the backpacks to outreach organizations like Youthlink MN and Avenues for Homeless Youth, whose outreach workers are on the streets every single day assisting young folks that are homeless. How can you help? Please see THE LIST and donate new, unused items from it. They can be shipped to us, dropped off, or we can arrange for local pickup! We can also accept monetary donations: our volunteers will be shopping for items to complete each backpack. The Winter List:
Backpack* (Sturdy, young adult appropriate)
Winter Gloves/Mittens (Outdoor appropriate)
Winter Hat (Outdoor appropriate)
Winter Scarf (Outdoor appropriate)
Warm Socks (Thick winter hiking/work socks)
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Soap (3-16oz liquid, or bar)
Shampoo (3-13oz)
Lotion (2-10oz)
Razors
Shaving Cream
Deodorant
Dental Floss (standard floss, not picks)
Sewing kit (multi kit Tree is perfect)
Band-Aids/First Aid Kit Items
Gift Certificate (Fast-food, Target, etc)
Pen/Pencil
Notebook (Spiral or bound, 8.5x11 size)
Flashlight
Gift Item
Tampons/Pads/Liners)
Kleenex Travel Pack
Hand Sanitizer
Reusable Water Bottle
Chap Stick
Laundry Pods
Dryer sheets
Hand Warmers
Ziploc bags
Cosmetic items
Cosmetic/toiletry bags
Wet wipes (small travel size!)

Any liquid or semi-liquid MUST be packed inside Ziplock bags to prevent leakage! Shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant...anything that can leak or spray must be in a bag. We use multiple ziplock bags per backpack!

*Good, strong backpacks are the MOST ESSENTIAL ITEMS. Please make sure they are STURDY, with good strong zippers and well-made seams. These are for adult-sized teens that use them every day to pack ALL of their belongings, they are used in harsh and challenging conditions. Thank you!

10/08/2026

Hello Backpackers!

It's time to talk Winter Backpacks!

Our next deadline is December 4, and whoa, our warehouse is EMPTY. Summer packing really took us out, and with all the things going on this year, donations have been exceptionally slim. We have never, ever ran out of hand sanitizer...that's a new one I just didn't expect.

We have about 2 months to collect the items below...and to collect funds to keep our lease! We raised enough money to pay our lease through December but beyond that....is a very scary future. If you can help fund our warehouse space, that would be wonderful. For those that don't know yet, we run a very lean operation...we are 100% volunteer, our warehouse/insurance/utilities are our only overhead, and that totals about $26,000 per year. We need our space to store valuable donations, work on packaging, and come together to pack backpacks for homeless young folks!

For our new followers: Backpack Project MN collects inventory from the attached list and packs quality survival backpacks for young people aged 13-21 that are experiencing homelessness in the twin cities. We collect only new, unused items and try to focus on brands that would be familiar and valued by young folks.

These are the items we need to collect before December 4, 2026:

140 Backpacks: Sturdy, Adult-Sized
200 $10 Food Gift Cards
173 Mens Insulated Winter Gloves
189 Womens Insulated Winter Gloves
170 Winter Scarves
150 Thermal Socks
250 Mens Athletic Socks
250 Womens Athletic Socks
123 Lotion (2-10oz.)
153 Mens Deodorant
163 Womens Deodorant
200 Sewing Kits
LOTS of Band-Aids
200 Flashlights + Batteries
100 Cell Phone Power Banks
100 Wireless Earbuds
LOTS of Tampons and Pads
113 Reusable Water Bottles
400 Lip Balm
50 Cosmetic/Toiletry Bags
200 Hand Sanitizer
163 Wet Wipes (Travel Size Only, non-sanitizing)
200 Colored Penciles/Colored Marker sets
200 Adult Sketch or Coloring Books
145 Pencil Sharpeners
140 Pink Square Erasers

If you’d like to donate, mail and packages can be sent to:
Backpack Project MN
3500 46th Ave N
Robbinsdale MN 55422

Financial donations through our website go to our account overnight!
http://backpackprojectmn.com/

We can also receive donations through Paypal and Venmo!
Through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GKQGEWFDLTQZY

Through Venmo! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4100658454070519327&created=1722114901.553175&printed=1Or

07/13/2026

Hi Backpackers!
This is our most current inventory, Sunday, July 12, 2026!

I love love looooove seeing our numbers creep up! We have a few weeks left to make some major progress but we are whittling down whats left of inventory thanks to YOU!

We've received such wonderful donations for our young folks in need, can't wait to get all of this packed into survival backpacks the first week of August. We've had multiple agencies reach out this week to see if they can get backpacks because the need has increased so much this summer...we've never had requests like this. Must mean we are doing something right, but also that resources are very, very scarce for our young folks.

Our MOST NEEDED ITEMS:

$9250 FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR JULY 30! Help us survive 2026!
139 $10 Food Gift Cards (Fast-food, Target, Cub, etc)
48 Adult Sturdy Backpacks
54 Mens Adult Athletic Socks
28 Womens Adult Athletic Socks
55 Lotion
18 Mens Deodorant
29 Womens Deodorant
129 Sewing Kits
50 Wireless Earbuds
50 Cell Phone Power Banks
40 Reusable Water Bottles
140 Travel Hand Sanitizer
88 Travel Size Wet Wipes NON SANITIZING
50 Colored Pencil/Marker Sets
114 Adult Sketch or Coloring Books
24 Pencil Sharpeners
41 Rectangle Erasers

If you'd like to donate, remember your donations are tax deductible! Mailed donations can be sent to:

Backpack Project MN
3500 46th Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55422

Financial donations can be made through our website, Venmo, and Paypal, as well as mailing us a donation!
http://backpackprojectmn.com/

Through Venmo:
https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4100658454070519327&created=1722114901.553175&printed=1Or

And donations can be made through Paypal!
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GKQGEWFDLTQZY

07/09/2026

We need some help backpackers! We have 3 weeks (!!!!) to raise funds to get us through the rest of the year.

Without a warehouse, our backpacks will be...quite difficult to pack. Donating at backpackprojectmn.com is very easy (and has the least processing fees!) but we can also accept donations through Venmo, PayPal, and the good ol' US Mail!

Backpack Project MN

3500 46th Ave N

Minneapolis, MN 55422

Thank you!

06/24/2026

Hey Backpackers!
We've collected $600 so far toward our goal of raising $12,000! That's a great start! Would LOVE to reach $1500 this week....can we do it?!

It's easy to donate! Mailed donations can be sent to:

Backpack Project MN
3500 46th Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55422

Donations can also be made through our website:
http://backpackprojectmn.com/

Through Venmo:
https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4100658454070519327&created=1722114901.553175&printed=1Or

And donations can be made through Paypal!
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GKQGEWFDLTQZY '

Thank you to our donors for getting us this far!!

06/22/2026

We've collected $350 toward our goal of $12,000! That's a great start....can we make it to $1500 by the end of the week? It's Monday, we have 5 days!!

It's easy to donate! Donations can be sent to

Backpack Project MN
3500 46th Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55422

Donations can be made through our website:
http://backpackprojectmn.com/

The can also be made through Venmo:
https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4100658454070519327&created=1722114901.553175&printed=1Or

And donations can be made through Paypal!
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GKQGEWFDLTQZY

06/17/2026

Hey Backpackers!

We are in the last half of 2026!! Can you believe it?

We are working towards our goal of filling backpacks the very first week of August! Our inventory is coming along, and I will post that next! However, we also need to raise funds to keep our warehouse for the last half of 2026!

Our warehouse is where were pack backpacks, sort and store our inventory, build our community of helpers, work on pre-packing, prepping, and all the other things it takes it make these backpacks the best survival tool for young folks experiencing homelessness.

We run a VERY lean organization. Everything we get, we pour into the backpacks....our only overhead is our lease, our insurance, and our utilities. We work really, really hard to keep those costs down, but we still need to pay the bills and keep the lights on!

This year our funding has been lower than ever...so if you can help, we really need it. In the 15 years we have been packing survival backpacks, this year has been financially one of the most difficult, and with so many resources losing funding that help homeless folks, the need is larger than ever.

If you can help us, now is the time.

If you’d like to send a donation, please mail to:
Backpack Project MN
3500 46th Ave N
Robbinsdale MN 55422

Financial donations through our website go to our account overnight!

[http://backpackprojectmn.com/](http://backpackprojectmn.com/)

We can also receive donations through Paypal and Venmo!

Through PayPal: [https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GKQGEWFDLTQZY](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=GKQGEWFDLTQZY)

Through Venmo! [https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4100658454070519327&created=1722114901.553175&printed=1Or](https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4100658454070519327&created=1722114901.553175&printed=1Or)

Thank you again, backpackers. We love you!!

Address

3500 46th Avenue N
Robbinsdale, MN
55422

Website

http://backpackprojectmn.com/

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