I do genuinely feel that the Cradles to Crayons has been a great service, not only for the purpose of clothing our kids, but also for strengthening our relationships with families. It provides another way of communicating through words and behaviors that we care about their kids and their family and are genuinely trying to help access resources to support them. It also empowered some students to advocate for their needs once they realized that a service like this existed. Some of my referrals were not originally from the parents; they were from the students explaining that they would benefit from resources like yours and helping me connect with their families. Thank you for all that you do!

We returned to a school to pick up the extra KidPacks when a teacher saw us going through them and came over to ask if we had any extras for a boy in her class. He had been wearing a weathered women’s coat and was in great need of clothing. He came over and was able to pick out a KidPack and one of the remaining coats we had from Cradles to Crayons. When he sat back down with his class he had the widest smile on his face. He put on his coat, hat and gloves and could not stop smiling. Afterwards, the teacher told us that he is embarrassed in class with the clothes he wears and often puts his coat in his backpack so no one sees it. Now he wears his new coat with total pride!