Events
Event Calendar
Looking for specific events? Use the categories to filter our event opportunities.
Help local children experiencing Clothing Insecurity get ready to learn from head to toe!
All kids deserve to look great and feel confident on that first day of school! Jordan’s Furniture, in partnership with Cradles to Crayons, wants to make sure that every child starts the school year off on the right foot.
Now through August 16, bring your clothing donations to any Jordan’s Furniture location (including the Taunton Distribution Center). We are accepting ALL types of clothing in ALL sizes! Click here to find a location near you.
Cradles to Crayons’ Ready For Learning initiative ensures that your donations help children living in homeless or low-income situations.
Get your company involved in Backpack-A-Thon!
800+ corporate volunteers + 50,000 backpacks packed = local kids in need are Ready for Learning!
Backpack-A-Thon is our signature Ready for Learning event, welcoming companies from across Massachusetts. Join this high-energy, corporate teambuilding event this summer to help fill thousands of backpacks with school supplies alongside other volunteers, so that local kids are ready on the first day of school for a year of learning.
View our Partnership Opportunities and Benefits
Providing essential learning supplies to kids requires support. For more information on how your company can join our effort, please contact Derek McVay at dmcvay@cradlestocrayons.org.
Click here to learn more about our Ready for Learning initiative.
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
Start the school year on a high note with a fun-filled karaoke party! Families can sing their hearts out, cheer each other on, and enjoy some light refreshments as we celebrate a fresh new season of learning and growth.
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
Celebrate the season with a fun, not-so-spooky scavenger hunt around the Giving Factory as families learn what happens at each station. Kids will follow clues, explore different areas, and discover Halloween treats along the way. Family-friendly costumes are encouraged!
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
Families can create their own “Tree of Thanks” by decorating paper leaves with things they’re grateful for and adding them to a growing display. Through this hands-on art activity, kids can reflect, create, and celebrate what matters most to them.
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
Join us for a fun afternoon of cookie decorating and holiday cheer! Families can get creative with icing, sprinkles, and sweets while enjoying festive music and warm drinks.
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, we’re inviting families to celebrate the power of dreaming big. We will host a special vision-board workshop where kids will explore their hopes for themselves, their families, and their community. We’ll provide craft supplies to help them imagine a brighter year ahead.
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
Share the love this February by creating Valentine’s Day cards for friends and loved ones. Families can craft personalized cards that spread joy and connection to friends, family, and community members.
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Family Leadership Circle — a community of families giving back, together.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, families can bring or create pictures of inspiring women (from history, family, or public life) to go on our communal display. We encourage families to bring photos so that we can discuss what traits make these women inspiring. Then, we will have a “Design Your Own Superhero” event, where kids will have the chance to create their own superhero characters inspired by the qualities highlighted during our discussion. They can name their superhero, describe her powers, and take photos with their creations in front of the inspiring women photo wall.
Please click the button below to sign up via our Volunteer Portal:
Sign Up
Want to learn more about the FLC, membership, and benefits? Click here!
Our Signature Events
Un-Gala®
Learn more about this year’s Un-Gala and how we are helping local children prepare for the cold winter months here.
Our signature Gear Up for Winter event, Un-Gala®, brings families together to have fun and give back. Each winter, volunteers – of all ages – gather to sort and pack everyday essentials – like hats, gloves, and more – that bring warmth to thousands of Massachusetts children in need.
Boston Marathon
From Hopkinton through Boston, the marathon race path goes through many communities Cradles to Crayons serves. The race represents an opportunity for Cradles to Crayons to form a team of runners who support our mission, who care about the kids in the communities they are running through, and who want to raise funds to support kids receiving the essential items they need to thrive.
Backpack-A-Thon®
Learn more about our Ready for Learning Initiative and how we are helping prepare local children for the upcoming school year here.
Unlike their peers, kids from low-income or homeless families lack basic school supplies that provide them with a real chance to learn and succeed. Ready for Learning’s signature event, Backpack-A-Thon brings together nearly 1,000 volunteers, primarily corporate groups, to stuff thousands of backpacks for kids to feel prepared for a year of learning. Backpack-A-Thon is a high-energy corporate event fueled by great spirit and friendly competition.