Cradles to Crayons and YMCA open Giving Spot collection site

Gently used items for children benefit families, environment

WILLOW GROVE » In the spirit of Earth Day and a new partnership with the Willow Grove YMCA, Cradles to Crayons will hold a grand opening ribbon cutting and volunteer event at its first regional Giving Spot for donations of items on April 22 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Stationed in the Willow Grove YMCA parking area, 3300 Davisville Rd, Hatboro, the Giving Spot will provide a convenient location for lower Bucks County and surrounding community residents to drop off new and gently used children's items: clothing, school supplies, books, shoes, hygiene items and diapers. Fun and engaging pop-up events will be hosted for the community throughout the year to presort and quality-check the donations.

Through easy collection of used children's items and saving donors the trip to the Cradles to Crayons' East Falls Giving Factory, the Giving Spot will help to reduce waste in landfills and reduce carbon emissions from vehicles in addition to helping serve more kids in need.

Clothing, school supplies and diapers are in high demand and not covered by any federal, state or city funding. The Cradles to Crayons mission directly works to tackle three of the ten reasons kids do not regularly attend school, which are lack of clothing, school supplies and the confidence to engage with their peers.

“Cradles to Crayons' first Giving Factory was in Horsham, close to this location,” said Michal Smith, ED of Cradles to Crayons. “This new Giving Spot will bring our model back to where we started, providing an easy and convenient way for the community to help children living in poverty. We could not be more grateful for the visionary support from the Y that made this possible.”

” We are excited to partner with Cradles to Crayons for this new Giving Spot collection site,” said Bill Seedes, executive leader of the Willow Grove YMCA. “The Willow Grove Y is always happy to work with organizations who help to make our community stronger. We know how supportive and generous our community is, and we know this will be a great success in helping children in need.”

Cradles to Crayons provides children from 0- 12 who live in homeless or lowincome situations with the essential items they need to thrive — at home, at school, and at play. Cradles to Crayons supplies these items free of charge by collecting new and like-new children's items through grassroots community drives and corporate donations. Since the pandemic started, demand has increased significantly. Cradles to CrayonsPhiladelphia annually provides basic essential items to almost 180,000 children living in low-income and homeless situations. For additional information, visit www.cradlestocrayons.org/ Philadelphia

Students volunteer at Cradles to Crayons