Friends First Support Cradles to Crayons

Friends First Support Cradles to Crayons

On a recent Saturday, a group of 20 mentor pairs from our Friends First mentoring program participated in a service project to support Cradles to Crayons. Cradles to Crayons 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.

The day began with the group writing notes of encouragement for the children who would be receiving goods from Cradles to Crayons. Then the group was orientated to the services and mission of the organization.  A motto for the organization is “Quality equals Dignity” and Cradles to Crayons works to ensure that all donations are of a standard where kids can be proud of the items they receive.

Cradles to Crayons continues their mission to spread service-mindedness by asking that volunteer groups bring in donations. Friends First matches brought in more than 25 new or gently used books.

For their service project, the Friends First group was assigned to the toy-sorting station at “The Giving Factory”. One task was for them to ensure that the toys had all their pieces and were in good working order—which was fun for both the mentors and mentees because that meant they got to play with them to test them out. The group then proceeded to wipe down and disinfect the toys and package them to be ready to give to a child in need. Additional volunteers from other organizations sorted clothes, shoes, and books, and another group of volunteers worked the sizing station where outfits are customized to meet the individual requests and needs.

We are so proud of all of our Friends First mentors and mentees who helped out this wonderful organization!

Discover More