Many of us have been to or heard of a restaurant that provides coloring pages and crayons to keep kids busy while they wait for their food. While this is a very clever set-up, many restaurants end up throwing those crayons away. Fortunately, one company recycles them to donate to children’s hospitals .
Bryan Ware was surprised to learn that restaurants throw out crayons.
Ware was disappointed to discover just how many restaurants dispose of perfectly good crayons that could easily be reused. So, he founded The Crayon Initiative to melt down the old crayons and create new ones, particularly for hospitalized children and children with special needs.
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The crayons donated to children’s hospitals make a difference.
Even when children are hospitalized for long periods of time, or even their entire lives, they still want a chance to have fun and use their imagination. Coloring is a great outlet for them to feel like other kids and enjoy the journey of unlocking their creativity.
There are many people working together to provide recycled crayons.
The Crayon Initiative wouldn’t be possible without the combined effort of many volunteers with the join belief that every child has the right to enjoy crayons as much as possible. Making such a seemingly small resource accessible can have a tremendous impact on a child’s life.
They even compile free activity books.
To make sure that no kid runs out of fun ways to use their crayons, The Crayon Initiative has compiled a number of free activity books to keep kids entertained for a long time.
It’s a labor of love.
While melting and molding crayons is tiring work, it’s worth it for this team when it comes to seeing the smile on each child’s face.
This is also an eco-friendly approach.
Over 100 million crayons are thrown away each year and they contribute to toxic omissions that harm the environment. Recycling them not only improves the happiness of the children, it also helps save the planet.
They even donate them to schools.
While children’s hospitals are their main focus, The Crayon Initiative also helps schools in need of supplies and ensures that their students are cared for.
They provide each child with their own set of crayons.
While it’s important for the children to learn about the importance of sharing, they don’t want the children to ever have to worry about running low on supplies. It’s a very special thing when a child receives their very own set of crayons, it also teaches responsibility.
They rely on continual crayon donations.
The objective to supply children in need with crayons isn’t just fulfilled with restaurant crayons alone, but through a combination of donations from many different resources. Without them, children in need may never get their own crayons due to high costs.
Let us know in the comments what you think of The Crayon Initiative and if you think their work is inspiring.
