Pick, Pack, and Give Back!
Help us Direct-Connect Children to Clothing
Thank you for your interest in our exciting pilot program—Pick, Pack, and Give Back!—to free the clothing in your closets and directly connect it to children in your community! This is truly a new and innovative approach for Cradles to Crayons to bring more people together—from one home to another—and we are thankful to have you as part of this unique effort.
We’ve pulled together some more detailed information and FAQs here. We are starting out small with a few Partners and a couple hundred children—but our hope is to build a sustainable process and platform that can deliver critical clothing to children in any community without being near a Giving Factory. With the impacts of COVID-19 becoming increasingly more visible daily, easily providing essentials to children who would otherwise go without is going to be more critical than ever—and by participating in this pilot program, you are helping to support even more children right now and well into the future.
Right now, we’re focusing our Pick, Pack, and Give Back! pilot efforts in Boston and Chicago. Please click here to sign up to participate in our Boston pilot (our Chicago pilot is already underway!). Timely completion of your survey is critical to our success at this stage. However, completion of the survey does not guarantee we will have a child to pair you with at this time—so don’t be concerned if we don’t find you a match at this stage. There are more opportunities to come!
Thank you again for your support and participation! If you have questions, please feel free to email us at pilotsupport@cradlestocrayons.org
Quality = Dignity Guidelines
Our mission strives to provide every child with the essentials they need to feel safe, warm, and valued, and our Outfit Packs are hand-selected to meet a local boy or girl’s specific needs and wants. You can help us by making sure that your gently-used donations are high-quality: not ripped, stained, torn, or have regional, religious, or branded themes. Quality = Dignity is a cornerstone of our mission—and instrumental in mitigating the impacts of Clothing Insecurity. Please make sure your donations are in excellent condition.
5 Steps to Pick, Pack, and Give Back!
- Do a quality check—please follow these Quality = Dignity standards!
- Find a shipping box or bag that fits UPS/USPS criteria.
- Package your donation—download and affix this label with the child’s information to the Outfit Pack AND the outside of the box. (Don’t forget to snap a pic of your outfits to share with pilotsupport@cradlestocrayons.org before you ship them out!)
- Ship your donation (with a tracking number if possible).
- Record your donation online—and tell us about your experience! Recording your donation is critical to making sure all children receive your Outfit Packs, and your feedback is essential as we continue to grow this program!
Additional Resources
Shipping
Shipping with USPS or UPS can all be done online and will average between $10.00 and $25.00 depending on the size and weight of the box and carrier you choose. Ship with UPS and use the code WELCOME for 20% off your shipping costs! Once you are matched with a specific child, you will receive the mailing address to ship to. For more information on shipping requirements and to print a label, please visit:
Other Ways to Give Back
Our Partners are turning to Cradles to Crayons with an increasing and urgent need for essentials like diapers and hygiene items. For relief, we established the Emergency Essentials Fund to provide these survival items to the children who need them—while also knowing that vulnerable families are going to need our services more than ever. The Emergency Essentials Fund allows us to leverage our logistics expertise and bulk purchasing power and serve thousands of families in need. Please consider making a gift and sharing the fund on social media and other network channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the goal of the Pick, Pack, and Give Back! pilot?
- Since we temporarily closed the Giving Factories due to COVID-19, we have been thinking about how we can continue to provide essential items that millions of children need to thrive. We have created an Emergency Relief Fund to get urgent items like diapers and hygiene items to our most vulnerable families. But beyond the fund, we wanted to think outside the box about how we can continue to address urgent needs for families today.
- Our Pick, Pack, and Give Back! pilot program aims to deliver clothes straight from families who would like to make a difference to families facing clothing insecurity. Children will receive an Outfit Pack—a package of high-quality, essential clothing, packaged and shipped by a participating family, and delivered by one of our service partners.
How does it work?
In this pilot program, we are partnering with a few Partners in Chicago and Boston to identify a small number of children ages 0–12. We will provide each child one Outfit Pack of high-quality everyday clothing essentials, matched to their gender and size. Families who would like to participate will tell us about the items in their closet that they can give via this online survey. We will work to match them to 1–2 children; the donor family packs their Outfit Pack in a shipping box or bag, covers the cost of shipping, and sends their Outfit Pack to the Partner they are assigned. The Partner will then distribute the donations directly to recipient families.
How can I get involved? What’s expected to get involved?
If you are interested in getting involved, sign up by telling us what you can give by taking this survey. To give, you must be able to provide:
>At least one Outfit Pack
- Infant Outfit Pack (Sizes 0–24 mo.):
- 7–10 tops (min. 5 onesies)
- 7–10 bottoms (can include 1-2 shorts)
- 1–2 pairs of pajamas
- 1–2 sweaters
- Youth Outfit Pack (Sizes 2T–Youth 18/20):
- 4–7 short- and long-sleeve shirts (can include 1 tank-top)
- 2–3 pants (can include 1 pair of shorts)
- 1–2 sweaters
>A bag or box to package and ship your donation
>A printer to print your shipping labels
Reminder, in signing up, you are not guaranteed to be matched to a child. If you don’t match this time, please hold onto your donation until the Giving Factory reopens (or until the next phase of our pilot!).
If you complete the questionnaire, you will receive an email letting you know if you have been matched within a few days. If matched, we ask that you send your items to the Partner within 5 business days of being matched.
What is an ‘Outfit Pack’?
An ‘Outfit Pack’ is a collection of everyday essentials—basic items that help a child feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued.
- Infant Outfit Pack (Sizes 0–24 mo.):
- 7–10 tops (min. 5 onesies)
- 7–10 bottoms (can include 1-2 shorts)
- 1–2 pairs of pajamas
- 1–2 sweaters
- Youth Outfit Pack (Sizes 2T–Youth 18/20):
- 4–7 short- and long-sleeve shirts (can include 1 tank-top)
- 2–3 pants (can include 1 pair of shorts)
- 1–2 sweaters
What are the most needed sizes?
Our most needed sizes are Infant Outfit Packs, sizes 0–24 months—especially for boys.
What are Cradles to Crayons’ quality standards?
At Cradles to Crayons, we believe that Quality = Dignity. In the pilot, as in the Giving Factory, we’re donating clothes that have been hand-selected with care to meet a local boy or girl’s specific needs and wants. Please ensure that your gently-used donations are high-quality: not ripped, stained, broken, or missing pieces. Click here to learn more about our quality donation guidelines and what we unfortunately cannot accept.
How much will it cost to ship my donation?
In this phase of the Pick, Pack, Give Back! pilot, we ask you to package, ship, and cover the cost of shipping your donation. You can ship however you would like. As we grow our plan for connecting families while the Giving Factories are closed, we’ll continue to work to make the shipping process as easy as possible. We appreciate your generosity in making this a success!
Estimated shipping costs:
- UPS Simple Flat Rate Shipping—Standard Ground: Use WELCOME for a 20% discount
- $11.50—Small (100–250 cm3)
- $15.50—Medium (250–650 cm3)
- $21.00—Large (650–1050 cm3)
- $25.00—Extra Large (1050–1728 cm3)
- USPS Priority Shipping
- $10.20—5 lb.
- $13.60—10 lb.
- $18.95—15lb.
- $22.35—20 lb.
How is Cradles upholding health standards in light of COVID-19?
Keeping our staff, partners, and volunteers safe and minimizing the spread of the COVID-19 virus is our top priority. We are incorporating a 48-hour hold when packages are received to minimize the risk of surface contamination at each stage of the logistics process and are working with service partners who we know upholds the same standards.
I don’t have a full Outfit Pack that I can donate today. How else can I support Cradles to Crayons?
In future phases of the pilot, we anticipate being able to accept high-quality clothing items that do not make a complete Outfit Pack. Unfortunately, right now, we cannot accept a group of items that do not meet the criteria of a full Outfit Pack. If you have items to donate that don’t fulfill the whole Outfit Pack, please hold onto your donation—and consider contributing to Cradles to Crayons’ Emergency Relief Fund, which is currently providing urgent items like diapers and hygiene supplies to our most vulnerable families.
Do I have to ship my Outfit Pack? Can I drop it off?
At this stage of the pilot program, donations must be shipped directly to the address provided to ensure they are processed correctly and delivered to the matched child. PLEASE DO NOT DROP OUTFIT PACKS OFF AT THE LOCATION.
What kind of box/bag and packing materials should I use?
Any box or bag that meets UPS/USPS criteria is acceptable. Each individual Outfit Pack needs to be shipped SEPARATELY in its own box. Please do NOT put multiple Outfit Packs into one box. Please make sure to fill out and affix this label to the Outfit Pack and to the outside of your package with the shipping label.
Can I ship more than one Outfit Pack in a single box?
No, each individual Outfit Pack needs to be shipped SEPARATELY in its own box. Please do NOT put multiple Outfit Packs into one box even if they are going to the same location. Please make sure to fill out and affix this label to the Outfit Pack and to the outside of your package with the shipping label.
How do I get my package picked up by UPS or USPS?
We encourage you to schedule a pick-up from your home through the UPS and USPS websites. Online pick-up is free and both sites have easy, step-by-step instructions to follow once you have generated your mailing label.
Should I wash the clothes before I ship them?
All donations should meet our Quality = Dignity standards and should be cleaned prior to shipping. Please make sure that your clothing is clean and high-quality before including it in your Outfit Pack.
How do I label the box?
Download, print, and fill out this label with the child’s information. One label goes in the box with the Outfit Pack and the second gets taped to the outside of the box. Don’t forget to also affix your mailing label!