MLK Day of Service with Cradles to Crayons

Cradles to Crayons MLK Day of Service drop site at the Swarthmore Community Center, hosted by The MOMS Club of Media 

What We Need

We are in dire need the below current items:

• New or Gently Winter Boots and Shoes – infant to adult 9
• New or Gently Coats (Hats and Gloves)- infant to 14/16
• New or Gently Coats - long pants - 5/6 to 14/16
• New Socks and Underwear- 2T to 14/16
• New PJ’s - infant to 14/16

• Clothing, sizes newborn - 14/16 (youth) 
• Winter boots, sneakers, and sandals (infant/child sizes 0–13 and youth/adult sizes 1–10)
• Hats, gloves, scarves 
• Fall/Spring jackets, sizes newborn - 14/16 (youth) 
• Books, especially baby board books and chapter books for children ages 10-12
• New arts and crafts/school supplies 
• Baby crib & bassinet bedding (no bumpers, please)
• Baby carriers (sling, Bjorn, Snuggli, etc.)
• Diaper Bags
• Diapers 
• Baby equipment, especially strollers, pack-n-plays and car seats (car seats must be less than 5 years old)
  • Other items we accept: high chairs, baby swings/rockers, baby bouncy seats, baby bath tubs
  • No cribs, please 
• Baby safety equipment (gates, bed rails, outlet covers, cabinet locks, etc.) 
• New baby hygiene supplies
• Batteries, especially AA and C

What We Can’t Accept

• ADULT CLOTHING sizes M, L, XL+
• Due to the recent drop‐side crib recall, we are no longer accepting cribs of any kind
• Stuffed animals
• Car seats older than five years or that have been in an accident 
• DVDs/CDs/VHS tapes/computer games
• Furniture
• Room decor
• Religious books/toys, including Christmas/Easter/Hannukah/Kwanzaa related items
• Books about families (“I Love Mommy,” “Daddy and I”)
• Underwear or socks out of its package or that are used 
• Used bathing suits
• High-heeled shoes and shoes that are not in great condition
• Soccer cleats 
• Clothing that is stained, torn, or has family writing ("mommy", "daddy", etc.) 
• Military related or violent toys/games (no guns of any type) 
• Oversized plastic play toys (please no toys larger than 24 inches) 
• Large backyard toys, slides, swings, baby pools, and structures
• Used hygiene products
• Baby food
• Breast feeding supplies
• Used arts and crafts/school supplies

Cradles to Crayons, MLK Day Region-Wide Collection

MLK Day Region-Wide Collection on Monday, January 21

Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia is looking to the community for support during a huge collection driving taking place this Monday, January 21, 2013.  There will be collections sites throughout the Philadelphia region, go HERE for a list in you area.

I will be at the Swarthmore Community Center location from 10am-1pm so please stop by, donate and keep me company! 

Cradles to Crayons was founded in 2002, with the mission of providing to children ages 0 to 12 some of the most important basics of life—free of charge.
These basics include clothing, school supplies, toys, and much more. In other words, we provide all the physical goods that children need to be safe, protected from the elements, and ready to learn. And by supplying them with high-quality used or new goods, we make children feel valued.

Rose Tree Media Students- Martin Luther King Day of Service

I would love to see more schools participate in this event next year!!!!

Elementary, middle and high school students in the Rose Tree Media School District are participating in the 17th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 16 – collecting needed items for disadvantaged children in the five-county southeastern Pennsylvania area and delivering them to Cradles to Crayons for distribution to local youngsters in need.
“This is the first such district-wide event to bring together all the high school, middle school, and four elementary schools in a volunteer drive of this magnitude,” explained Ralph Harrison, assistant principal at Penncrest High School and event organizer.
Each school had a schedule for the collection of clothing and other items needed by Cradles to Crayons for several days leading up to and including MLK Day. On MLK day, students will sort and bag the items in accordance with the guidelines of Cradles to Crayons, with the assistance, as necessary, of Penncrest High School students. Rose Tree Media School District Maintenance Department personnel will pick up the sorted items from each school on Tuesday, January 17 and deliver them to the Cradles to Crayons' warehouse in West Conshohocken. “It was a true team effort from start to finish,” Harrison said. “It's pretty easy to mobilize the students and community for such a great cause and on such a great day. Cradles to Crayons represents the essence of Dr. King's message that has continued to live on years after his untimely death.”
“The Rose Tree Media School District children – along with their parents and school district staff – are performing important work,” declared Cradles to Crayons’ Executive Director Michal Smith. “We cannot ignore that Philadelphia is the poorest of the nation’s ten largest cities, with one in three of the city’s children living in poverty, but it must be noted that one in 12 children living in the Philadelphia suburbs are living below the federal poverty level. In fact,” she continued, “poverty rates in the suburbs and rural communities have increased faster than in urban areas!
Cradles to Crayons (www.cradlestocrayons.org, 215-836-0958) is the only local organization that maintains a year-round comprehensive and continuing program for collecting and delivering necessary supplies to children, free of charge, in low-income and/or homeless situations. ###