Art is one of the most creative forms of self expression. The greatest appeal is that anyone can create art. There are limitless possibilities to ways and tools used to create an expressive piece. Coloring and drawing is perhaps the easiest, and for most children the number one go-to artistic experience. Almost every child loves to color and draw, which is why paper and crayons have always been fixtures in schools, restaurants, and doctor offices.
The Crayon Initiative is celebrating their 10th Year Anniversary! It is an organization that was created to help bring coloring art to children in the hospital. Helping them explore their creativity, individuality, and provide a temporary escape from their current situation.
Who they are
The Crayon Initiative is a non-profit organization based out of California. Started by an inventive dad Bryan Ware in 2011, after noticing the large amount of crayons that get discarded by school and restaurants every year. He created The Crayon Initiative as a way to recycle and reuse the millions of crayons sent to landfills, and provide a service to sick and injured children.
What do they do?
The wax used in crayons is not biodegradable, meaning that when they are thrown away they will sit and guck up landfills. By collecting the over 75,000 pounds of crayons per year from schools and restaurants, that otherwise would have been thrown out, The Crayon Initiative sorts, melts them down, and creates new crayons. Using a custom mold, created with the help of a physical therapist, the new crayons are thicker and shaped in a way that makes them easier to hold, especially for children with special needs.
To date, The Crayon Initiative has donated over 10,000 new crayons, equalling over 2,000 boxes of crayons, to art programs in children’s hospitals all over the state of California, encouraging the creativity of hundreds of children.
How can I help?
Visit the website TheCrayonInitiative.org for details on how to donate either monetarily, or by sending old, broken, and used crayons, to be melted down and used for a great cause.
Sources: theCrayonInitiative.org | Commitchange.com | Boredpanda.com | Inhabitots.com
The Crayon Initiative
Shandy Marso, Contributor