By Lindsay Tavarozzi
Posted Jan. 1, 2016 at 11:01 AM
NEEDHAM
My mother raised me on her own. There was never any effort from my father, not even child support or a phone call on my birthday.
I know what it’s like seeing a parent struggle; I know what it’s like to not have enough money to make ends meet. As I grew up, I realized that I was not the only child to face challenges like this. There are children everywhere facing their own struggles every day – some of them far worse than mine.
I want to do whatever it takes to help someone in need, especially children facing struggles similar to those I know all too well. This realization inspired me to give back – to serve my community and to make change happen in this world.
Cradles to Crayons is an organization that started in Boston and distributes clothing, books, shoes, and other essentials to children in need from birth to age 12 at no cost.
When I heard that Cradles to Crayons was looking for a journalism intern, I immediately jumped on that opportunity. Even though I didn’t need the credits as part of my Lasell College degree, I wanted to spend my time helping children who deserve a better life.
During my second month interning, I accompanied the team for a coat distribution. Throughout the winter months, Cradles to Crayons runs the Gear Up for Winter program, a season-long event that collects and distributes warm winter essentials such as hats, gloves, coats, and boots.
The distribution that I went to was at a local motel. The families being housed there were either low-income or experiencing homelessness and they had requested a winter coat through one of our Cradles to Crayons nonprofit social service partners.
I took photos of the children receiving coats and asked parents if they would like to speak about the impact that Cradles to Crayons has had on their family. This was extremely nerve-wracking for me, and made me overwhelmingly emotional.
Seeing the young children’s faces light up with excitement over something as simple as a winter coat was heartbreaking. Hearing a mother say her daughter would walk to school in the cold without a coat if Cradles to Crayons wasn’t there brought tears to my eyes.
In those moments I realized that I made the right choice applying to Cradles to Crayons. It makes my hours of work in the office worth it.
I am a student teacher at Lasell. My class is all college freshmen – many not familiar with Cradles to Crayons. As my internship progressed, I decided to have my students volunteer at The Giving Factory, the 32,500-square-foot warehouse where 35,00 volunteers come annually to sort, clean and package donated items. I wanted them to understand the passion that I have for this organization.
My students came to volunteer in October and the experience was life changing for them. Many of them never knew the amount of need we have right in our own communities and they wanted to make a change.
For two weeks, we held a dollar drive and a clothing donation drive with the goal to collect 50 articles of clothing to donate. The students asked each person that walked by for a dollar.
Once the drive ended, the students and I had collected $576. We had also filled six bins with clothes. The fact that 45 first-year students were able to collect over $500 was remarkable.
Everyone experiences challenges in life and the reality is that some people are still facing them, especially children. As the close-knit and family oriented community that Boston is, we should all recognize what some people in our community face every day. No child should have to walk to school during the peak of winter without a coat. No parent should have to worry about whether or not their child has clothes that fit.
These are issues that everyone should be aware of and that we should all work as a community to end. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to volunteer my time as an intern at Cradles to Crayons and I hope that my students will continue to volunteer when I graduate in May. The more we make people aware of the need in Massachusetts, the more families we will be able to help.
Lindsay is an intern at Cradles to Crayons and a student at Lasell College.