The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Foundation founder takes mission national
8-year-old Ella Tryon delivers 6,000 boxes of crayons to children’s hospitals in Memphis
Ella Tryon has done it again.
The now 8-year-old Montville Township resident, who started her “Color Me A Rainbow” campaign when she was 6, has concluded the latest chapter of her charitable crusade, and on a national level, recently delivering a total of 6,000 24-count boxes of crayons to two separate children’s hospitals in Memphis, Tennessee.
The third-grader’s efforts to ensure every children’s hospital in the United States receives an adequate supply of crayons for sick kids continues to soar. And according to her mother, Jackie, Ella’s mission is far from over, as evidenced by the transition of her daughter’s “Rainbow” campaign in to a bona fide foundation, “Help Me Color A Rainbow.”
“It’s a nonprofit that collects crayons for children in hospitals, founded by Ella, and it’s much larger now,” she said. “With her foundation, we’re able to accept monetary donations and give (donors) a tax write off/deduction.
“We knew she was determined to make this happen, but we never expected so much so soon. She’s surpassed every count goal she’s set long before her initial dates to have them collected. To date, over 22,132 boxes of crayons have been collected and delivered.”
In July 2016, Ella was diagnosed with celiac disease, an immune reaction to eating gluten, which nearly kept her confined to her hospital room. Since the room had few if any crayons to use for coloring, an activity she sought to occupy her time, she decided no other hospitalized child would be placed in such a situation.
Last October, Jackie, Ella and her father, Chris, delivered a total of 13,132 boxes of crayons to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. But, as always, Ella had her eyes on larger goals.
“So me, my mom and my dad all drove in my mom’s car with 1,000 boxes, but my uncle, he carried the 5,000 boxes of crayons in his truck to take to St. Jude,” Ella said. “We met (staff) people by the St. Jude statue the second day after exploring the city. They came out and met with us and took us to the warehouse where they unloaded them at the dock. Then we went to take the 1,000 boxes to Le Bonheur (Children’s Hospital).”
No fanfare or media greeted the Tryons at either hospital, Jackie said, adding that’s the way they family wanted it.
“There was none of that, only her Facebook page and the establishment of the foundation.”
That social media presence, however, has indeed attracted notice, though, as the family still receives cards, donations for the foundation and letters from
all over the country.
“Pfizer also sent her two checks, and Verizon (Wireless) in Chardon also donated,” Jackie said. “It goes in waves. For months, we won’t hear anything and then we get bombarded. Now, we’re holding events in five Charming Charlie stores, three in Michigan, one in Erie (Pennsylvania) and one in Lyndhurst. They are donating up to 20 percent of the sales each day to the foundation.
“And St. Mary’s School in Chardon is one of Ella’s biggest supporters. Ella even received a standing ovation at church. She is so humble. She has no idea the impact she’s making. One day she will.”
And while Ella may now have superficial knowledge of HuffPost, the political and cultural opinion website and blog, it certainly has intimate knowledge of her, as she was one of six kids profiled in an inspirational feature titled, “These 6 Kids Are Doing Amazing Things For Their Communities.” And while ranking isn’t particularly important, it’s worth noting that Ella earned the No. 1 spot.
“I’m really happy,” she said. “It was kind of nerveracking to get the results because all of the kids did great things.”
Ella’s foundation also garnered attention from a Florida-based donor who runs the Keep Kids Smiling Foundation, which supports the well-being of children and youth in Greater Miami, in addition to donating funds to children’s foundations.
“The lady said she’d like to give Ella funds for (the) 5,000 boxes, and that’s how Memphis happened,” Jackie said, adding the trip to Tennessee would have taken place eventually, but that the generosity of Keep Kids Smiling hastened it. “When Ella wanted to do the 5,000, I said, ‘I’ll drive you there myself,’ and I didn’t think it would be for years. Again, we didn’t expect this to happen so fast.
“And the people in Memphis, between Le Bonheur, St. Jude and our hotel, they were the epitome of Southern hospitality, no doubt. They were so accommodating.”
Ella’s new goal, in addition to the hospitals, was again, like in 2016, to have 10,000 boxes by Christmas, which, of course, she’s already reached.
“She wants to continue doing this until she’s 18,” Jackie said. “As of now, we have 208 children’s hospitals left we have to give crayons to. We have 208,000 boxes left (to distribute) in 10 years, almost 21,000 a year. Akron Children’s is next, then Shriners (Hospitals for Children) in Erie.
“What we’re hoping to do is to travel every August to areas before school starts, to incorporate deliveries into our family vacations. We’d personally like to deliver as many as we can, but, obviously, with some sites we can’t. We’ll ship some and others will hold their own crayon drives. We’re just doing this dayto-day and it’s amazing to know the change is real.”
While thanking her parents, her church, her school, the community and all her donors, Ella said she still feels surprised.
“I remember when I saw a St. Jude commercial, and I couldn’t help not crying. I wanted to help, but I didn’t expect to go this soon at all to Memphis. When we got there, I was astonished and I still am.”