Cradles to Crayons

We do not work directly with families. Instead, we work with social workers, health care workers, and people in similar positions, who place orders for children's items on behalf of the familes we serve.

Do you have anyone like that currently working with you? If so, ask if they are registered with Cradles to Crayons. If they are already registered, they can order items for your children. If they are not registered, direct them to this site. Registering is a simple, free process.

If you do not currently work with a registered partner, look at our list of social service partners for an organization that is near you. If you can't find one, please let us know what town you live in, and we can recommend someone near you who is already registered with us.

Cradles to Crayons serves Philadelphia-area children between the ages of newborn and 12 years old who are living in low-income situations. This includes children living in poverty and homelessness. We do so through the help of over 400 social service agencies who help us identify these children, and deliver the packages we provide.

No. All of “our” children receive our help free of charge.

There are lots of ways to get involved with Cradles to Crayons. For example, you can:

• Make a donation of “good goods”
• Organize a drive to collect “good goods”
• Host a fundraising event
• Volunteer at the Giving Factory
• Make a personal financial contribution
• Make a corporate financial contribution
• Donate excess or outdated inventory
• Spread the word. (Follow us on Facebook or Twitter!)

We accept donations of a wide range of goods that are used by preteens of all ages, from infants on up. If your children used it lightly, “our” children can probably use it, too.

Ideally, we would never have to dispose of a donated item. (That costs us time and money.) Please review the standards below to make sure that we can put your item to good use.

• Clothing: bottoms, tops, outerwear, pajamas, accessories. Sizes 0-18. Swimwear, socks and underwear must be new.
• Shoes: sneakers, sandals, casual and dress shoes, boots. Please secure pairs with rubber bands.
• Books: board books, picture books, chapter books, Spanish language books. No religious books, please. No CDs/DVDs/VHS tapes.
• Arts and crafts: beads, clay and dough, craft kits, painting, coloring supplies/books, paper crafts, stamps. All supplies must be new and unused.
• School supplies: backpacks, notebooks/binders, calculators, rulers, scissors, writing instruments and coloring supplies. All supplies must be new and unused.
• Baby supplies: feeding, diapering, health and safety, toys, nursery furniture/decorations, bedding. All feeding and diapering supplies must be new and unused.
• Equipment: infant and toddler car seats, pack 'n plays, swings, bouncy seats, safety gates, high chairs/booster seats, changing tables, cribs/toddler beds/mattresses, excersaucers, strollers. All equipment must be fewer than 5 years old (verify by inspecting manufacturer's date), in perfect working order, with manufacturer's instructions, and all hardware and attachments. Package hardware, batteries and attachments in a Ziplock bag and attach to equipment.s *If cribs do not include complete instructions and all the hardware, we will not be able to accept them.
• Toys: action figures, scientific and educational toys, bikes/scooters, building sets/blocks/models, dolls, electronics, musical toys, pretend play/dress up, puzzles, games, vehicles, riding toys, playhouse kitchens, sports balls/rackets/batss. Toys should be clean, and contain all pieces, instructions, and batteries (if required). We do not accept: stuffed animals, CDs/DVDs/VHS, computer games, violent toys, or big plastic toys.
• Hygiene: soap, shampoo, toothpaste & toothbrushes. All supplies must be new and unopened.

Socks, underwear, diapers, arts and crafts/school supplies, hygiene products, and anything designed to be put in a baby's mouth.

Drop-off location:
141 Gibraltar Road
Horsham PA 19044
Telephone: 215.836.0958

Drop-off hours:
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Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Please come around to the back of the building to Loading Dock A and ring the bell. Someone will be there to help you immediately.

View map showing the location of the Giving Factory.

There is only one permanent drop-off location in the Philadelphia area: at the Giving Factory in Horsham.

There are generally drives going on in different neighborhoods, some of which may be near you.

Cradles to Crayons is unable to do pickups. Our model relies on drop-offs, and on community members hosting collection drives in their own neighborhoods. Click here for a list of collection drives near you. Learn how you can host your own collection drive.

Our most-needed items depend on the season and current inventory levels. Winter coats (for example) are always in great demand in the cold weather, and we try to stock up on them for months in advance.

Regardless of the season, children's clothing is always a crucial need.

Yes, Cradles to Crayons accepts car seats. We require car seats to be five years old or younger. The manufacturer's date can be found on a sticker or engraved on the back or side of the seat.

Please inspect the seat for expiration date before donating. By law, expired car seats cannot be used.

Everyone from age 5 on up is welcome to volunteer at the Giving Factory. Volunteers 18 years old and under need to have a parent with them.

Yes.

You can join the Youth Leadership Council, which gives young people in the Philadelphia area an opportunity to make an important difference in their communities.

Elementary and middle school groups must have one parent for every three kids. High school groups need one parent for every six kids.

We can usually handle groups of 30 kids age 18 and under, or between 50 and 60 adults. These numbers may need to go lower if other volunteer groups are scheduled on the same day.

Due to high levels of interest in volunteering, you are required to register with our volunteer department ahead of time. Contact us by completing our on-line volunteer registration form.

Yes. When you arrive at C2C, you can back up to our loading dock, where a member of our team will help you unload before you begin your volunteer shift. Please do not leave donations on the dock unattended.

First-time volunteers are given a short introduction to Cradles to Crayons, which includes a bit of our history and a brief orientation on how our model works. Groups are then assigned to project areas, where a C2C representative introduces the project and remains with the group for the entire session to answer any questions.

Volunteers at the Giving Factory should expect to be involved in a wide range of projects, depending on the ages of the members of the group and our particular needs at the time. For a list of the projects that take place frequently at C2C, download our “Volunteering at the Giving Factory” pdf.

Volunteers are responsible for providing their own lunch. There are picnic tables for eating outside in good weather, a small kitchenette with a refrigerator and microwave oven, and a conference room for group lunches. The Hatboro-Horsham area offers a number of delivery and take-out options.

Cradles to Crayons offers a number of seasonal volunteer opportunities that take place outside of our Giving Factory. For information on these events, you should contact the Community Outreach department.

We also have several fun suggestions for activities you can do to help with your family and friends in your local community. If you are an individual or family interested in hosting a local event, please click here. If you are a member of a school, community, or faith-based group, please click here. If your corporation is interested in volunteer opportunities outside the warehouse, please click here.

Yes. Fill out the on-line registration form. A staff member will contact you and help you work out the details.

Yes. Fill out the individual/familly registration form, making sure to check the box at the bottom indicating that you want to set up a regular schedule of volunteer hours. You'll be in good company!

Cradles to Crayons first opened its doors in Boston in 2002. It quickly proved itself as an effective philanthropic and social-service model.
Several years later, in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, a Philadelphia-based entrepreneur named Jennifer Case-then taking time off from a successful financial-sector marketing career to focus on her three young children-wondered how she could help the thousands of young children who were evacuated from New Orleans and other devastated cities on the Gulf Coast.

She and her children decided to organize a multi-family tag sale to raise money for displaced families. But when her 30 e-mails to neighbors generated responses from 45 households-half again as many as she had contacted-Case knew she had tapped into a strong current of generosity in her community. “It gave me goose bumps,” she recalls.

Case started wondering how that community energy could be harnessed-and how the torrent of goods coming out of the houses in her suburban neighborhood could be steered toward needy children. Her investigations eventually led her to Cradles to Crayons in Boston, and-in 2006-she founded the second C2C chapter.
Like her counterparts in Boston, Case has spent countless hours building bridges to social-service partner organizations, volunteer groups, and corporations (who both organize groups of volunteers and-in many cases-donate funds or make in-kind contributions). “It's about creating opportunities for what we call 'widespread volunteerism,'” says Case.

Last year, Cradles to Crayons provided, free of charge, packages of clothes, shoes, books, toys, baby safety equipment and school supplies to 48,000 children in the Boston and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.

Working in close partnership with social workers, nurses, teachers, and therapists, Cradles to Crayons has become a trusted resource: to children and families in need; to the organizations who serve those families; and to families, corporations, and individuals who seek ways to make a tangible difference in their own communities.