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45,000 backpacks filled with back to school supplies in Boston to help students in need

Read the full article and watch the video story: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/cradles-to-crayons-school-supplies-boston/

AUGUST 7, 2025, BOSTON, MA — Hundreds of volunteers came to Boston University Thursday to stuff thousands of backpacks with school supplies, all to help Massachusetts families who are unable to afford back to school essentials.

Cradles to Crayons’ annual Backpack-a-thon brought 800 volunteers to Agganis Arena, where they worked on assembly lines stuffing 45,000 backpacks with notebooks, folders, pencils and more. Before students return to class, the non-profit hopes to fill 75,000 backpacks and distribute them to 26 school districts in Massachusetts.

“The reality is that 40% of families with children in Massachusetts are struggling to meet everyday expenses,” said Christine Morin, the CEO of Cradles to Crayons.

According to the National Retail Federation, families plan to spend an average of more than $858 on school-related items this year. And 51% of consumers surveyed are worried that higher tariffs could make that number even higher.  

“It’s always amazing to see their reactions when they get these backpacks,” said volunteer Helga Darosa, who’s been stuffing them for five years. “There’s so many kids who might not have the necessities at home. Their parents might not be able to provide them, so to get that, the biggest smile on their faces, you just see the joy light up in their eyes.”

Cradles to Crayons said they’re still looking for volunteers and clothing donations to help every student start the school year on the right foot and with a full backpack.

“Really, what it means is that someone cares about them, someone believes in them and that really matters,” said Morin.

Clothing for kids: Cradles to Crayons and TJX partnership includes volunteers, drives

To read the full article: https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2025/06/tjx-cradles-to-crayons-partnership-includes-volun.html

Many families and caregivers are increasingly forced to choose between paying for rent, food, diapers and clothing. SUSAN BAGGETT

At a glance: Cradles to Crayons and TJX
Duration of the partnership: 14 years
Impact: Helping give low-income families clothes and school supplies for children
The TJX Cos.: More than 5,000 stores across nine countries and three continents, with plans to expand to 6,275 stores long-term
Cradles to Crayons: Nonprofit organization that operates in five cities and has 70,000 volunteers.

JUNE 11, 2025, BOSTON, MA — Clothing insecurity impacts 1 in 3 children in Massachusetts, but a partnership between Cradles to Crayons and The TJX Cos. is working to change that.

Through the partnership, which began in 2011, TJX offers financial support, employee volunteerism and mentoring opportunities for clothing drives. Each year, the organizations schedule multiple clothing drives in which they distribute “free, high-quality” essentials to children, fostering community engagement in such cities as Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Since 2002, Cradles to Crayons has distributed around 6 million clothing packages in five different regions. In 2024, the partnership sent 1 million packages of clothing and essentials free of charge where 300,000 were sent to families in Massachusetts.

Cradles to Crayons CEO Christine Morin said the volunteering opportunity has allowed TJX staff to teach expertise on warehouse management and logistics to help improve the organization’s ability to gather and distribute clothing in an efficient and scalable way.

She said they hold volunteering shifts every Wednesday through Saturday at The Giving Factory, where community members, families and volunteers come help support their program.

“Those clothing donations are then processed here in our Giving Factories, and we organize volunteers to sort and package the clothing that goes out to the community organizations serving youth and families,” Morin said. “And one thing I think is really important about what we do is, one of our cornerstone values is, quality equals dignity, and that’s the clothes that we’re distributing to kids should be something that they’re proud to wear.”

Each year the Cradles to Crayons hosts the “backpack-a-thon,” where they fill backpacks with school supplies at the beginning of the school year. In 2024, over 800 TJX associates participated in the event in 15 cities, where they supplied over 25,000 backpacks.

“I think all of this just really emphasizes their dedication and giving back to the communities where they operate,” Morin said. “I would just say that our TJX corporate partnership is really a collaboration. They are a corporate partner who rolls up their sleeves and really walks (and) serves alongside us.”

The program includes clothing-donation programs like “Giving Factory Direct,” in which families can donate clothes for other families. Participating donors package and ship “high-quality and seasonally appropriate clothing.”

“At TJX, we have long been committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate, and we are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations like Cradles to Crayons that help to fill critical basic needs for vulnerable families,” said a TJX spokesperson in an email.

Morin said Cradles to Crayons has an “extensive network of service partners” that are mostly community based nonprofits, school districts or social service organizations that directly support children and families facing homelessness and low income situations. These service partners are able to directly order from Cradles to Crayons to deliver them directly to the families.

“Those service partners use our partner portal, they place orders online,” Morin said. “Each order is based on the specific needs of a child that’s in their care, and then we process those orders at the giving factory.

Morin said she looks forward to building a strategic plan to emphasize a long term strategy for impact and growth where they can help more kids. Morin said they are continuously on the lookout for more corporate partners and community members to engage with their events.

“We know that there is more need out there, and we want to make sure that we can do everything to support kids,” Morin said.

Cradles to Crayons Aims to Provide 75,000 Backpacks Filled with School Supplies to Massachusetts Students

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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45,000 backpacks filled with back to school supplies in Boston to help students in need

Read the full article and watch the video story: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/cradles-to-crayons-school-supplies-boston/

AUGUST 7, 2025, BOSTON, MA — Hundreds of volunteers came to Boston University Thursday to stuff thousands of backpacks with school supplies, all to help Massachusetts families who are unable to afford back to school essentials.

Cradles to Crayons’ annual Backpack-a-thon brought 800 volunteers to Agganis Arena, where they worked on assembly lines stuffing 45,000 backpacks with notebooks, folders, pencils and more. Before students return to class, the non-profit hopes to fill 75,000 backpacks and distribute them to 26 school districts in Massachusetts.

“The reality is that 40% of families with children in Massachusetts are struggling to meet everyday expenses,” said Christine Morin, the CEO of Cradles to Crayons.

According to the National Retail Federation, families plan to spend an average of more than $858 on school-related items this year. And 51% of consumers surveyed are worried that higher tariffs could make that number even higher.  

“It’s always amazing to see their reactions when they get these backpacks,” said volunteer Helga Darosa, who’s been stuffing them for five years. “There’s so many kids who might not have the necessities at home. Their parents might not be able to provide them, so to get that, the biggest smile on their faces, you just see the joy light up in their eyes.”

Cradles to Crayons said they’re still looking for volunteers and clothing donations to help every student start the school year on the right foot and with a full backpack.

“Really, what it means is that someone cares about them, someone believes in them and that really matters,” said Morin.

Clothing for kids: Cradles to Crayons and TJX partnership includes volunteers, drives

To read the full article: https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2025/06/tjx-cradles-to-crayons-partnership-includes-volun.html

Many families and caregivers are increasingly forced to choose between paying for rent, food, diapers and clothing. SUSAN BAGGETT

At a glance: Cradles to Crayons and TJX
Duration of the partnership: 14 years
Impact: Helping give low-income families clothes and school supplies for children
The TJX Cos.: More than 5,000 stores across nine countries and three continents, with plans to expand to 6,275 stores long-term
Cradles to Crayons: Nonprofit organization that operates in five cities and has 70,000 volunteers.

JUNE 11, 2025, BOSTON, MA — Clothing insecurity impacts 1 in 3 children in Massachusetts, but a partnership between Cradles to Crayons and The TJX Cos. is working to change that.

Through the partnership, which began in 2011, TJX offers financial support, employee volunteerism and mentoring opportunities for clothing drives. Each year, the organizations schedule multiple clothing drives in which they distribute “free, high-quality” essentials to children, fostering community engagement in such cities as Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Since 2002, Cradles to Crayons has distributed around 6 million clothing packages in five different regions. In 2024, the partnership sent 1 million packages of clothing and essentials free of charge where 300,000 were sent to families in Massachusetts.

Cradles to Crayons CEO Christine Morin said the volunteering opportunity has allowed TJX staff to teach expertise on warehouse management and logistics to help improve the organization’s ability to gather and distribute clothing in an efficient and scalable way.

She said they hold volunteering shifts every Wednesday through Saturday at The Giving Factory, where community members, families and volunteers come help support their program.

“Those clothing donations are then processed here in our Giving Factories, and we organize volunteers to sort and package the clothing that goes out to the community organizations serving youth and families,” Morin said. “And one thing I think is really important about what we do is, one of our cornerstone values is, quality equals dignity, and that’s the clothes that we’re distributing to kids should be something that they’re proud to wear.”

Each year the Cradles to Crayons hosts the “backpack-a-thon,” where they fill backpacks with school supplies at the beginning of the school year. In 2024, over 800 TJX associates participated in the event in 15 cities, where they supplied over 25,000 backpacks.

“I think all of this just really emphasizes their dedication and giving back to the communities where they operate,” Morin said. “I would just say that our TJX corporate partnership is really a collaboration. They are a corporate partner who rolls up their sleeves and really walks (and) serves alongside us.”

The program includes clothing-donation programs like “Giving Factory Direct,” in which families can donate clothes for other families. Participating donors package and ship “high-quality and seasonally appropriate clothing.”

“At TJX, we have long been committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate, and we are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations like Cradles to Crayons that help to fill critical basic needs for vulnerable families,” said a TJX spokesperson in an email.

Morin said Cradles to Crayons has an “extensive network of service partners” that are mostly community based nonprofits, school districts or social service organizations that directly support children and families facing homelessness and low income situations. These service partners are able to directly order from Cradles to Crayons to deliver them directly to the families.

“Those service partners use our partner portal, they place orders online,” Morin said. “Each order is based on the specific needs of a child that’s in their care, and then we process those orders at the giving factory.

Morin said she looks forward to building a strategic plan to emphasize a long term strategy for impact and growth where they can help more kids. Morin said they are continuously on the lookout for more corporate partners and community members to engage with their events.

“We know that there is more need out there, and we want to make sure that we can do everything to support kids,” Morin said.

Cradles to Crayons Aims to Provide 75,000 Backpacks Filled with School Supplies to Massachusetts Students

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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