Did you know that The Crayon Initiative partners with more than 260 children’s hospitals to get our recycled crayons to pediatric patients? Within the hospital, we work with individual Child Life Services departments.
So what is Child Life Services? That’s a great question!
Normalizing the Hospital Experience
We and the incredible people in Child Life Services (CLS) know something simple but profound: a child in the hospital is just like any other child. They want to play, laugh, and have fun.
It’s the job of a CLS provider to make sure that can happen as much as possible. CLS providers work hard to make sure sick kids don’t feel like they’re just sick kids.
They’re passionate about developing recreational and educational programming to balance children’s healthcare routines with valuable moments that matter to their families.
“The Crayon Initiative has provided us with a consistent source of crayons, which we use daily to inspire children to get creative and express themselves. Plus, they have no wrappers, which means we can easily sanitize any that are shared among patients! Our staff is thrilled every time a new shipment from The Crayon Initiative comes in!”
—Kristen King, Manager of Child Life at Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah
They’re the people who offer tours of the pediatric wing, arrange birthday parties, decorate IV poles, help make sure siblings don’t feel overlooked, bring in special guests, and distract from scary procedures. The CLS providers are also the ones who give out our crayons as part of their therapeutic art programs.
And they do it all on a very limited budget, which is why our crayons are so important!
The Healing Power of Art
The opportunity to create art is a vital part of engaging with young patients. Art gives children in hospitals a distraction, a sense of control in an uncontrollable situation, and an outlet for dealing with their emotions—particularly during long stays.
Therapeutic art is a major focus in CLS, as it’s been proven to help children cope with anxiety, to smooth admission and discharge transitions, and even to encourage a quicker recovery.
All of that can be accomplished with just one pack of crayons and the help of our imaginations!
We’re proud to support Child Life Services providers. These special people are truly the unsung heroes of the hospital.
We’ll keep sorting, melting, packing, and shipping so they can bring a little more color to their part of the world!
How You Can Help
Are you looking to get involved? Here are some ways you can help:
- Donate financially. It costs us $1.46 to create a pack for one child. Without financial support, we aren’t able to process unwanted crayons into recycled ones for children in hospitals.
- Collect unwanted crayons for us to melt down. We have a whole host of resources for how you can gather used or unwanted crayons. Check them out here!
- Join a volunteer pod or create your own. If you’re in the Danville, California, area, you might be a great fit to volunteer in our facility! Our volunteer pods commit to a weekly time for consistent melting, molding, and packing our recycled crayons.
If you have any questions, reach out to us at info@thecrayonitiative.org!
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