We get a lot of questions about The Crayon Initiative. People want to know about crayon donation and how they can get involved. A blog post covering some of the most common questions seemed like the perfect way to answer.

1) Why do you collect used crayons?

The idea for The Crayon Initiative really began with restaurant crayons. Most people don't realize this but the small packs of crayons they give out are often only used once. Children leave them at the table and they discard the crayons in the trash. Why throw away perfectly good crayons?

Of course, crayons are not biodegradable. They sit in a landfill forever. So, of course, that's horrible for the environment. There are children everywhere who can benefit from making art. Being able to give them recycled crayons fills that need and gives them an outlet.

What started as a partnership with local restaurants has grown to include crayons from many places, such as your home, public and private schools, and other businesses.

2) What do you do with the recycled crayons?

We earmark our recycled crayons for hospitals that are members of the Children's Hospital Association (CHA). There are, of course, many places where children will benefit from crayons. But we wanted to start with one place near to us - children who are in the hospital and could benefit from an artistic outlet.

3) Can we purchase recycled crayons?

Not at this time. We don't sell our recycled crayons. We donate them to hospitals we've partnered with, though we are open to including new hospitals that belong to the CHA.

4) How do I volunteer to help with The Crayon Initiative?

There are many ways you can help with The Crayon Initiative and we welcome volunteers. Companies seeking a way to increase their corporate social responsibility initiatives, and private groups who want to help the environment and hospitalized children can be part of our solution.

Some of our volunteers run crayon collections through local groups and initiatives. Others may donate monetarily or work as an ambassador by promoting us locally and through social media.

There are plenty of volunteer options and we appreciate the help.