Crayons to Classrooms is a Dayton, Ohio 501(c)(3) charity providing free school supplies to area students who cannot otherwise afford them. The organization functions as a free store for teachers of under-served children, stocking basic needs such as notebooks, pencils and pens, and art supplies for Kindergarten through Grade 12 classrooms. The charity in affiliated with the Kids In Need Foundation.
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) charity |
| Focus | Children's education |
| Location | |
Key people | Executive Director Steve Rubenstein |
| Website | www.dc2c.org |
Crayons to Classrooms aims to lay the foundation for academic success by ensuring that students from low-income families have access to schoolwork essentials. Teachers from eligible schools may "shop" onsite at no charge for basics that children need for learning, all donated and assembled in partnership with local businesses, individuals and volunteers.
To qualify for free classroom supplies, teachers must represent schools having at least 70% of students enrolled in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).[1][2] In the Dayton area, approximately 1,400 teachers from 85 schools are candidates, serving as many as 23,000 students.[3]
History
editCrayons to Classrooms opened to teachers January 15, 2009 after 3 years of research and planning. A 2006 study by Dayton civic leaders identified useful classroom "free store" models across the US.[1] With this learning experience as a base, and the Mathile Family Foundation and The Dayton Foundation providing seed money, Crayons to Classrooms was established as a registered non-profit in 2008.[4] A partnership with Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley secured the organization a generous physical plant, plus pick-up of donated products.[5] Today Crayons to Classrooms operates in 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of shopping, warehouse, and office space inside the Goodwill Easter Seals building, though separate from it, in north Dayton.[6]
Programs
editCrayons to Classrooms employs several programs to collect essential school supplies for under-served children:
C4C Supply Drive Program
editC4C Supply Drive Program seeks business and community sponsors for drives to gather donated or surplus supplies. Crayons to Classrooms promotes the drives and provides collection bins and services.[6]
School Box Program
editSchool Box Program links corporate or individual donors with specific under-served classrooms, providing them with grade-appropriate kits full of new, brand-name supplies. These range from crayons and glue sticks for K and elementary use to calculators, dictionaries and more for grades 6-12.[6]
Classroom Solutions
editClassroom Solutions, a collaborative program with Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley, utilizes die-cut forms produced by Goodwill's Work Experience Program—numerals and letters, geometric shapes, etc.—as classroom learning aids. Donations such as felt, plastics, and cardboard are the raw materials for this program.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Home". Crayons To Classrooms.
- ^ "National School Lunch Program". United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "A Store for Teachers, Filled with Free School Supplies for Needy Children, Will Soon Open its Doors in Dayton". The Dayton Foundation. March 14, 2008. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008.
- ^ "CRAYONS TO CLASSROOMS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
- ^ Kissell, Margo Rutledge (February 23, 2009). "Nonprofits' struggles to keep up inspire new partnership program". Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "DC2C". Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
External links
edit- Home Official Site