Seeking donations to provide warm winter essentials for 6,000 local children in need
CHICAGO, IL- Cradles to Crayons® a nonprofit organization that equips 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, commences its Gear Up for Winter® initiative, a program aiming to provide 6,000 Chicagoland families and children with warm winter items necessary for the approaching chilling temperatures.
This is the first Gear Up for Winter program Cradles to Crayons will execute in the Chicago market. The program intends to support local children’s needs through individually tailored “KidPacks.” Every “KidPack” assembled will provide a bundle of items to enable each child to stay healthy and warm this winter. “KidPack” items include cold-weather clothing, coats, hats, mittens and boots.
Cradles to Crayons’ Gear Up for Winter program emphasizes on the importance of preparedness for the winter and is looking to the community for assistance now. Along with fulfilling “KidPack” requests, the organization aims to fulfill every request made for a winter coat, hat, gloves, warm clothing, waterproof winter boots and all other basic essentials.
Winter brings harsh and occasionally unpredictable conditions, increasing Cradles to Crayons’ urgency of financial and product donations. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are less able to regulate their body temperature compared to adults. As a result, children are more likely to develop significant health effects when they are exposed to environmental temperature extremes.
“Not having the right clothes for the winter can make a real difference in a child’s ability to walk to school, play outside with friends, or just be healthy and safe,” said Bernard Cherkasov, executive director of Cradles to Crayons Chicago. “Since our inception in August, we have been preparing for this program and hope to serve 6,000 kids living in poverty or homeless situations in the Chicago area. We are a city of great resources, and it is up to us to make sure no child is too cold to play, learn, thrive, and just be a kid.”
About Cradles to Crayons
Cradles to Crayons launched in 2002 and has operations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The nonprofit 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. They supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need. Cradles to Crayons mobilizes communities of plenty on behalf of communities of need, recycling and reusing high-quality children’s goods and engaging thousands of youth and adults in tangible service activities each year that benefit local children. For more information, please visit https://cradlestocrayons.org/chicago.