Cradles to Crayons Announces Formation of Boston Board of Directors
New Boston Board of Directors will extend reach and impact in Massachusetts, working in concert with National Board to pave the way for National Expansion.
BOSTON, MA—OCTOBER 23, 2014—Cradles to Crayons, known for its award winning work in providing clothing and essentials for Massachusetts children living in low-income or homeless situations, announced today that its National Board of Directors has created a new local board composed of 16 outstanding civic and corporate leaders who will serve as the founding members of the Cradles to Crayons-Boston Board of Directors. The Boston Board serves to expand the organization’s outreach and capacity in Massachusetts and will give support to Cradles to Crayons’ National Board of Directors’ plans to expand the Cradles to Crayons model into new cities.
“The formation of Cradles to Crayons’ Boston Board, chaired by Daily Table’s Senior Director, Fredi Shonkoff, is a pivotal next step in building on the work we are already doing to help the more than 300,000 children in need in the Commonwealth. By creating a visionary body at the local level, we can grow our community engagement and increase the number of children we serve while deepening the support we have to offer,” said Sharon Reilly, Executive Director for Cradles to Crayons-Boston. “Cradles to Crayons has been making a measurable impact in local children’s lives since its inception and the potential service that comes from widening our reach is huge. This additional infrastructure will allow us to build an even more efficient, well-oiled machine by giving further focus to the things we are doing that are successful. Our roots are deep, and they keep growing, and we are thrilled.”
Cradles to Crayons, with the help of volunteers, donors, and corporate sponsors, will support more than 75,000 children in Massachusetts in 2014, a 15% increase from 2013. Through its Ready for School initiative, Cradles to Crayons equipped more than 30,000 local children with backpacks, school supplies, clothing, and other essentials needed to start the school year ready to learn. The current Gear Up for Winter initiative will prepare an estimated 18,000 children for the cold New England winter with warm coats, sweaters, hats, and mittens.
“Our vision is that one day, every child in the U.S. will have the essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. The new Boston Board of Cradles to Crayons will bolster our efforts to realize that vision here in the Commonwealth. We are honored to have the volunteer leadership of such committed leaders on this local board and on our National Board,” said Founder and CEO Lynn Margherio.
Cradles to Crayons was founded in Boston in 2002 and expanded to Philadelphia in 2006. Executive Director Sharon Reilly was brought to the Boston team in 2013, allowing Founder and CEO Lynn Margherio to focus on plans to expand nationally.
Boston Board of Directors
- Fredi Shonkoff, Boston Board Chair, Senior Director, Daily Table
- Telis Bertsekas, Portfolio Manager, Bluecrest Capital Management
- Bob Boudreau, Chief Executive Officer, WinterWyman
- Todd Cook, Managing Director, Bain Capital
- Deb Devaux, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Provider Solutions, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
- Mike Ewald, Managing Director, Sankaty Advisors
- Jennifer Flynn, Senior Vice President/Assistant General Counsel, Boston Red Sox, Senior Vice President/General Counsel, Fenway Sports Management
- Tom Goemaat, President/CEO, Shawmut Design & Construction
- Barbara Goose, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Altisource
- Sharlyn Heslam, Managing Director and General Counsel, Berkshire Partners
- Wendy Kraft, The Kraft Group
- Donna Levin, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Care.com
- Sharon Scott-Chandler, Executive Vice President, Action for Boston Community Development
- Monica Shah, Associate, Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP
- Newcomb Stillwell, Partner, Ropes and Gray LLP
- Yolanda Taylor, Managing Director, Westwicke Partners, Owner, Lexington Power Yoga
National Board of Directors
- Jordan Hitch, National Board Chair, Managing Director, Bain Capital
- Dean Athanasia, President of Preferred and Small Business Banking , Bank of America
- Michael Brown, CEO & Co Founder, City Year
- Stuart Davies, Managing Director, Sankaty Advisors LLC
- Lynn Margherio, Founder & CEO, Cradles to Crayons
- Bill Matson, VP, Human Resources, Analog Devices
- Phyllis Yale, Partner, Bain & Company
- Linda Zecher, CEO, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
About Cradles to Crayons
Cradles to Crayons is a nonprofit organization with locations in Boston and Philadelphia that provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. Cradles to Crayons supplies these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need, collecting new and like-new children’s items through grassroots community drives and corporate donations. Donations are processed and packaged by volunteers at warehouses called “Giving Factories” and are distributed to children through a collaborative network of social service agencies and school partners. For more information, visit www.cradlestocrayons.org.