Cradles to Crayons

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.