Ready for Learning initiative distributes backpacks and school supplies for free to 29 school districts.
JULY 19, 2024, BOSTON, MA — Families will need to spend an estimated $890 this year to get their children ready for learning, yet many are struggling to meet their basic needs. Cradles to Crayons® will help ensure children are prepared, empowered, and excited to return to their classrooms this fall. The organization’s Ready for Learning initiative, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and TJX Companies, Inc., aims to provide 155,000 packages of clothing and 75,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to children in need as they return to the classroom this year.
40 percent of households with children report difficulty affording their weekly expenses according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This leaves little room to purchase pencils and notebooks or a new pair of shoes before returning to school. Cradles to Crayons responds to the need for clothing and other essentials year-round, but it is especially important as students return to the classroom. Three of the top 10 reasons children miss school are related to Clothing Insecurity and a lack of school supplies.
“We believe that the tools for learning should be accessible and available to all children—no matter what is going on outside of the classroom,” said Connie Olson, Cradles to Crayons Interim Executive Director and VP of Operations. “Consistent attendance is one of the most significant predictors of academic success, and our Ready for Learning initiative will ensure that a lack of backpacks, school supplies, and clothing are not one more barrier keeping students from participating successfully at school. Through our partnership with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and 28 school districts, thousands of children will receive these items for free.”
Some key events in support of Ready for Learning include:
- Backpack-A-Thon®: Cradles to Crayons’ signature Ready for Learning corporate event returns this year with volunteer teams coming together at Boston University’s Agganis Arena on August 1 to help fill thousands of backpacks with school supplies. Amaka Ubaka, Weekday Morning Anchor on WHDH, will emcee the event.
- Back to School Family Volunteer Event: Families with children age 5 and above can sign up to help at the Giving Factory on Saturday, August 10. During shifts from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m., volunteers will pack backpacks with school supplies.
- Jordan’s Furniture Clothing Drive: Now through August 18, all Jordan’s Furniture store locations are collecting donations of new and gently used clothing (sweaters, sweatshirts, shoes, and coats) for children in support of Cradles to Crayons’ Ready for Learning initiative. The Cradles to Crayons/Jordan’s Furniture partnership, now in its twelfth year, has supported thousands of local children.
- School Clothing Collection with Simon Malls: From August 16-September 16, 8 Simon Malls are collecting clothing donations for Cradles to Crayons. Collections will take place at Auburn Mall, Burlington Mall, Cape Cod Mall, Northshore Mall, Shops at Chestnut Hill, South Shore Mall, Square One Mall, and Wrentham Premium Outlets.
The initiative is also underway in the organization’s regional markets in Chicago and Philadelphia. C2C is the only large-scale nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing Clothing Insecurity. For more information, visit Cradles to Crayons’ website about the Ready for Learning initiative.
About Cradles to Crayons
Cradles to Crayons® (C2C®) believes that all children deserve the essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. Founded in 2002, Cradles to Crayons 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—for free. Cradles to Crayons collects and distributes new and high-quality used children’s goods by engaging and connecting communities. C2C sets a gold standard of individual, family, and corporate volunteer engagement, and through its “Giving Factories®” provides unique, hands-on opportunities to directly help local families. Headquartered in Boston, MA, C2C opened in Philadelphia in 2007, Chicago in 2016, and New York City via an innovative online platform, Giving Factory Direct (GFD), in 2021. For more information, please visit www.cradlestocrayons.org/boston.
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