1 in 3 children in Chicagoland lives in poverty.

Let’s help them.

At Cradles to Crayons, our entire organization is driven by a focused and all-important goal: to make life better for children in need. To make this happen, it takes a wide variety of individuals and groups coming together to make a difference in their local communities.

Ways to Give

Find A Local Drop Off

You can help us get everyday essentials into the hands of children facing clothing insecurity. Learn more about how you can help provide our most-needed items.

Please check out our Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Highlights Report, to see what strides we made last year thanks to your continued support.

Child Champion is our all-new monthly giving program that fuels the heart of our organization and helps to launch a child’s full potential.

Frozen Broadway Musical

FROZEN is melting hearts on Broadway in an all-new production created for the stage by an award-winning team—and we have early access to tickets that are not yet available to the public.

Now not only do you get to experience the magic that is Frozen, but a significant portion of your ticket purchase supporting Cradles to Crayons is tax-deductible.

Get Your Tickets!

Update on COVID-19

Keeping our staff, partners, and volunteers safe and minimizing the spread of the COVID-19 virus is our top priority at this time. Given the gravity of the situation, and the rapid spread of the virus in communities across the U.S. and globally, we will be taking the following measures to help ensure the well-being of our One Cradles community.

From Monday, March 16, 2020 until Thursday, April 30, 2020, we will be implementing several precautionary measures. Note, no known cases of COVID-19 have been reported at any of our Giving Factories, however, we are taking extra precautions to help ensure the continued well-being of our community.

We will be making the following changes to our operations:

Volunteering at the Giving Factory: We will be suspending all volunteer activities and events scheduled to take place at our Giving Factories. This includes standard volunteer shifts for Champions, individuals and corporate employees, Family Leadership Council and Teen Leadership Corps events.
Recycled Product Donations: Due to the redeployment of staff, we will stop accepting recycled product donations on site at our Giving Factories and at all local drop-off sites and HUBs.
KidPack Ordering: We will continue to fulfill all current KidPack orders but will turn off the system to any new orders. In the coming days, we will determine what critical items we can continue to provide to partners.

We know these decisions will have an impact on our staff, volunteers, partners and most importantly, the kids and families we serve; so please know that we did not make them lightly. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding and we will keep you informed of any new developments.

Take Action

We work with over 7,000 families, individuals, community groups and companies to serve over 30,000 children every year in Chicago. Your time is vital to getting children the everyday essentials they need.

Make a Difference

Our Stories

On a human level, what we do is bring a little sunshine into the life of a family or child in need. Learn firsthand about the difference we make on a day-to-day basis. From our service partners and volunteers and from the families themselves.

The Difference We're Making

Service Partners

Our whole focus is to make our collaborative process as easy and streamlined as possible. This helps us to empower the children you serve at home, at school and at play by providing the everyday essentials that match their individual needs.

Learn More