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Time to give back! Now through Dec. 20, Boscov’s Children Department hosts a Giving Tree with donation ornaments listing Cradles to Crayons' current critical needs. Store patrons can purchase critical needs throughout the children’s department and donate at the courtesy desk. 

Craydles to Crayons has a critical need for children's winter items, including coats, warm clothes, hats, gloves & scarves, sizes 0 through 14/16 (adult smalls welcome); and boots, sizes children's 0 through adult 10. You can help keep local kids warm this winter.

Find a Boscov's location near you:

Exton Mall - Exton, PA

Coventry Mall – Pottstown, PA

Plymouth Meeting Mall – Plymouth Meeting, PA

Granite Run Mall – Media, PA

Springfield Mall

Date: Nov. 12 to Dec. 20

Springfield Mall hosts a winter clothing collection drop-off at the customer service desk at the main entrance off of Baltimore Pike. Patrons are encouraged to donate new and gently used winter children’s items sizes 0 to 14/16 (adult smalls welcome) including clothing, coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots.

Also, a Giving Tree with donation ornaments listing Cradles to Crayons' current critical needs will be located in Santa’s workshop. Mall patrons can purchase items throughout the mall and donate at the customer service desk. In exchange for a gently used donation or new item purchased at the mall, guests will receive a $5 off coupon for a Santa Photo (Package A).

Books-A-Million

Purchase a new book from Books-A-Million on the first floor of the Springfield Mall, and it will be donated to Cradles to Crayons to go to a local child in need.

Date: Nov. 17 to Dec. 20

The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO-GPC) hosts a month-long collection drive that will culminate on Thurs., Nov. 21, at the chapter’s monthly meeting at the Tredyffrin Public Library. Items donated by NAPO-GPC members, their clients and associate members will be collected there. The Tredyffrin community will also be invited to drop off needed children’s items to the Library lobby, located at 582 Upper Gulph Rd., Strafford, PA. Check library hours here. 

The collection drive will focus on some of Cradles to Crayons’ most-needed children’s items, including:

• Boys’ pants and socks,
• Boys and girls pajamas and underwear,
• High chairs,
• Strollers,
• Pack 'n Play playards,
• Baby carriers,
• Crib sheets, and
• Baby hygiene essentials.

(Find a current list of most-needed items here.)

Two weeks later, on Dec. 5, NAPO-GPC members will travel to Cradles to Crayons’ warehouse in West Conshohocken, where they will lend their organizing skills to sort donated items by type, season, size and gender, and help fill child-specific KidPack orders placed by local human-services agencies for their young clients.

A KidPack provides a child with a seven-day supply of everyday essentials, including clothing, shoes, infant safety equipment, toys and books.

West Chester-based College Hunks Hauling Junk, a NAPO-GPC associate member, will partner in this event by donating its services on November 22 to transport collected items to the Cradles to Crayons’ warehouse for sorting.

NAPO-GPC is the local resource for organizing professionals – individuals and businesses that provideorganizing services, advice, solutions and products to Greater Philadelphia region clients in corporate, small business, home office and residential settings.

An emergency winter item collection is being held at St. Thomas' Church Whitemarsh. The community can donate new and gently used winter children’s items (sizes 0 to 14/16, and adult smalls), including clothing, coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots (sizes 0 through adult 10). New and gently used books, toys & baby equipment will also be accepted. There will be a manned donation truck during these times:

Fri., Nov. 22: 9am - 4pm   and   Sat., Nov. 23: 9am - 1pm

An emergency winter item collection is being held at St. Thomas' Church Whitemarsh. The community can donate new and gently used winter children’s items (sizes 0 to 14/16, and adult smalls), including clothing, coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots (sizes 0 through adult 10).

New and gently used books, toys & baby equipment will also be accepted.

There will be a manned donation truck during these times:

Fri., Nov. 22: 9:00am - 4:00pm    and    Sat., Nov. 23: 9:00am - 1:00pm

We invite you to kick off the Holiday Season on Saturday, November 30th as Patriot Place lights their Holiday Giving Tree!

As Patriot Place’s charitable partner, Cradles to Crayons benefits from the giving tree which features ornaments containing a special holiday request from a child in need.

Visitors to Patriot Place are invited to take an ornament from the tree and purchase the assigned gift to fulfill a child’s wish. Gifts can be dropped off throughout the holiday season to the Patriot Place Management Office, located next to Skipjack’s or any participating Patriot Place Tenants. Please help a child in need this holiday season.

Tree Lighting Events

Join us for a night of traditional holiday fun with Caroling, Sleigh rides and of course Santa & Rudolph!

• Elite Dance Performance with Live Nutcrackers: 5:30pm – 6:00pm
  Elite Dance will perform their Holiday Routine with Live Nutcrackers. Located in front of the Patriot Place Giving Tree.
• Tree Lighting: 6:00pm
  Watch as Patriot Place lights their 5th Annual Tree! Santa & Rudolph will be there to watch the tree lighting.
• Christmas Caroling: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
  Listen to your favorite Christmas Music fill Patriot Place as they light their Holiday Giving Tree.
• Sleigh Rides: 6:30pm – 9:00pm
  Bundle the family up and enjoy a horse drawn sleigh through Patriot Place. The sleigh ride will begin between Davio’s Restaurant and Bar Louie.
• Santa’s Storytime at Old Navy: 7:00pm
  Join Santa inside Old Navy for a special reading of A Night before Christmas!

For more information, please visit the Patriot Place website.

The Linden Square Breakfast with Santa event helps support the "Socks Full of Love" campaign being held by the Linden Square shopping center. Breakfast with Santa participants are asked to contribute $10 or 2 - 3 pairs of new socks for children up to age 12. Donations benefit Cradles to Crayons.

For reservations, call: (781) 239-1100

The "Socks Full of Love" collection will run from December 7 - December 30, 2013. Collection bins are located throughout Linden Square shopping center in the following locations: Kenzie Kids/KGirl, Magic Beans, Sara Campbell, The Cottage, and Unleashed by PETCO. 

Ten Thousand Villages in Media will hold a community shopping event on December 20, the retail outlet announced today, and will earmark 15 percent of sales that evening for Cradles to Crayons, and offer holiday gifts and 25 percent purchase discounts to shoppers who donate money or needed clothes or footwear for children served by the local nonprofit.

“Ten Thousand Villages is proud to host this important drive benefitting disadvantaged children in our community,” said Lisa McSain, manager of the Media store. “We are pleased to join forces with Cradles to Crayons in this event, which represents a ‘win-win-win’ – for Cradles to Crayons, for our shoppers, and for the artisans worldwide who are responsible for the unique collection of handmade items sold in our store.”  

Cradles to Crayons addresses the poverty faced by one in five children in the Greater Philadelphia region by collecting and providing new and nearly new daily essentials that disadvantaged children, birth through age 12, need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.

• Customers who make a monetary or in-kind donation to Cradles to Crayons during the December 20 holiday shopping event will receive a hand-carved olive wood ornament and a 25%-off-one-item coupon good on their next visit to the Ten Thousand Villages in the Media store between January 2 and February 15, 2014. In-kind donations include, for example, a new or nearly new child’s winter coat or sneakers, or new socks or underwear.
   
• Cradles to Crayons will receive the cash donations along with children’s clothes, footwear and winter coats for the children they serve.
   
• The artisans behind the unique handmade gifts, jewelry, home decor, art and sculpture, textiles, serveware and personal accessories earn vital income, assured through Ten Thousand Villages’ fair trade practices, which provide up to 50 percent in cash advances when an order is placed, and payment in full when an order is shipped.

“Cradles to Crayons cannot thank enough the Media Ten Thousand Villages store, which is making it possible – and convenient – for shoppers to help the one in five children in this region who live in poverty,” said Michal Smith, executive director of the Cradles to Crayons. “And never is this support more critical than in the winter months when the essentials packed into KidPacks are supplemented with coats, boots, sweaters, mittens and hats, making the final months of the year our most financially demanding – and the most difficult for the children and families we serve.” 

Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than one million essential children’s items to 100,000-plus disadvantaged and underserved children in the Greater Philadelphia region in the past five years, and provides invaluable civic opportunities for 1,600-plus volunteers each month.

Ever dream of walking across the same field that the 3-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots play on? How about capturing your family holiday photo on that same field? On November 30th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm you can get your photo taken with Santa on the Gillette Stadium field! *

How do you get on the field? You may choose one of the two options below for admission to the field:

• Donate a new or gently used coat to Cradles to Crayons
• Donate $20 to Cradles to Crayons

* One admission grants field access for up to (4) people.

Your photo will be available online for a FREE download following the event! Guests are welcome to bring their own camera to capture this special moment!

For details, visit the Patriot Place website.

This Silver Saturday at participating stores at Eagle Village Shops, a portion of sales will be donated to Cradles to Crayons.

You'll also be able to donate new & gently used children's winter items that will go to local kids in need this winter season. Give back, get, and give back some more!

     Donate children's winter items:
     When: Saturday, November 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm
     Where: The Silverspoon at Eagle Village Shops, 205 W. Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA
     Items accepted: 
       -  Coats, warm clothes, hats, gloves & scarves (sizes newborn through 14/16)
       -  Winter boots (sizes 0 through adult 10)

     Shop at Eagle Village Shops:

Spend some special time with your special girls!

Courtesy of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts:

Join us in the spirit of giving! Kicking off on Tuesday, December 3 - #GivingTuesday -- the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts' campus is hosting a "winter gear" drive to benefit Cradles to Crayons. Cradles to Crayons is an organization that provides children from birth to age 12, living in low-income and homeless situations, with the essential items they need to thrive. Cradles to Crayons has a shortage of warm winter gear, so our collection drive is needed and well-timed. The Kimmel Center is the only organization participating with Cradles to Crayons for #GivingTuesday and we are proud to work collaboratively to benefit our community in a new and dynamic way. 

This project is in partnership with: The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Opera Philadelphia, The Philly Pops, Pennsylvania Ballet, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

"Cradles to Crayons is proud to partner with the Kimmel Center and its community of artists in their "Giving Tuesday" campaign that celebrates and encourages support of local charitable and nonprofit cultural organizations. At this time of year, the offer to conduct a collection of needed clothing items - warm coats, boots, gloves, hats and scarves - is sweet music to the ears of the more than 300,000 of the region's disadvantaged young children that we and our social service agency partners serve." -- Michal Smith, Executive Director of Cradles to Crayons

Find out more about the Kimmel Center here.

Where to donate:

• Marked bins will be located in Commonwealth Plaza and accessible 10am -- 6pm, daily and later on performance evenings. (300 S. Broad St., Phila., PA 19102)
• Marked bins will be located in the Merriam Theater (250 S. Broad St., Phila., PA 19102) and Academy of Music (S. Broad & Locust Sts., Phila., PA 19102) when the buildings are open for performances.

Accepted Items:

• Winter coats, sizes newborn - 14/16 (youth)
• Hats, gloves, scarves

About #GivingTuesday: #GivingTuesday™ (#GT) is a movement to create a national day of giving to kick off the giving season on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The second annual #GivingTuesday is on December 3, 2013. In the same way that retail stores take part in Black Friday, we want the giving community to come together for #GivingTuesday.

Join Baltazar & Pebbles and the HOT 96.9 Family at Old Navy in the South Bay shopping center for the first Annual Gear Up for Winter Drive to support Cradles to Crayons' Give Back with an Outfit Pack program. Everyone who arrives in the first hour will be qualified for a $1,000 shopping spree benefitting Cradles to Crayons, with Baltazar & Pebbles as their helpers. In case you don't have an item to donate but would like to participate, enjoy a 20% discount on all your purchases at the South Bay Center Old Navy location. http://bit.ly/1cgk2wF

As part of a plan to deepen the organization's impact in the Commonwealth and in preparation for expansion into new markets, Cradles to Crayons is pleased to name Sharon Reilly as the new Executive Director for Cradles to Crayons Boston. Ms. Reilly will assume responsibility for Cradles to Crayons' activities across Massachusetts. Founder and CEO Lynn Margherio will now focus on setting the overall direction of Cradles to Crayons as a national organization, working closely with Ms. Reilly and with the Executive Director for greater Philadelphia, Michal Smith. 

Recognized with a 2013 Pinnacle Award for her record of excellence as a nonprofit leader, Ms. Reilly brings a wealth of nonprofit experience to Cradles to Crayons. As Executive Director of The Women’s Lunch Place (WLP), an organization that provides shelter, food, and services for women who are homeless or poor, Ms. Reilly oversaw a team of 22 and an operating budget of $3 million. In addition to running the ongoing activities of WLP, Ms. Reilly successfully led a $3 million capital campaign and shelter renovation project, a strategic planning effort, and an organization-wide review and evaluation of its programs. 

Prior to her role at Women’s Lunch Place, Ms. Reilly directed Community Relations and Public Policy at The Food Project, and was responsible for building brand awareness and for creating effective models for engagement at the neighborhood and state-wide levels. 

"Sharon is a great fit for Cradles to Crayons’ mission, model and community," said Lynn Margherio. "She is a strong, collaborative leader and a champion for children and families." As executive director of Cradles to Crayons Boston, Ms. Reilly will oversee an organization that provides essential items to over 50,000 children per year and serves as a model for community engagement. Ms. Reilly will begin her new position at Cradles to Crayons December 2, 2013.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Cradles to Crayons family because it represents a network of individuals who believe that those who have, support those in need," Ms. Reilly said. “It is a deep understanding of human need that makes Cradles to Crayons a leader, and I am looking forward to adding value to a strong organization.” 

At the Cradles to Crayons Giving Factories in Boston and Philadelphia, growing numbers of adults, youth, families, corporations, and community groups share their time, dollars, and children’s goods with children and families who struggle to make ends meet. In its first 10 years, Cradles to Crayons has provided local children with half a million packages filled with basic items: clothing, books, toys, shoes, and cold weather essentials like a warm coat, boots, pants, a hat, and gloves.

One of our permanent drop off locations, Paprika Kids in Belmont, is having a sale to encourage people to donate children's clothing and toys to Cradles to Crayons. Donate your like-new children's items there or purchase new items at Paprika and receive a discount on your purchase. Items for donation receive a 25% discount and the rest of your purchase receives a 10% discount. This opportunity runs from December 9th through December 20th, 2013.

Due to impending severe weather, Cradles to Crayons will be CLOSED, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10. 

This includes:
- All volunteer shifts
- All product pick-ups
- All donations

We apologize for any inconvenience.

** Please stay tuned for the opportunity to reschedule your volunteer visit, as we'll really need your help in the upcoming weeks before the holidays. Please stay safe on the roads!

Giving feels better when you get a tasty dessert in return during Give and Get in Mt. Airy! From Thanksgiving through January 15th, simply bring a winter coat for donation when you dine at any participating Mt. Airy restaurant and get a signature dessert for FREE with your meal ($15 minimum purchase).

Participating restaurants include:

Earth Bread & Brewery (7136 Germantown Ave) – Chocolate Baby Cake or Bread Pudding

Wine Thief (7152 Germantown Ave) – Chocolate Crème Brulee

Avenida (7402 Germantown Ave) – Tres Leches or Burnt Caramel Pudding

Little Jimmie’s Bakery Café (6669 Germantown Ave) – Cinnamon Crème Coffee Cake

Jyoti Indian Bistro (7220 Germantown Ave) – Choice of 2 House-Specialty Desserts

Geechee Girl Rice Café (6825 Germantown Ave) – Caramel Cake

Trolley Car Diner (7619 Germantown Ave) – Choice of Milkshake

Goat Hollow (300 W. Mt. Pleasant Ave) – Apple Crisp or Chocolate Mousse

High Point Café (602 W. Carpenter Ln & Allen Lane Station) – Choice of Specialty Espresso Drink

Patrons who donate a coat at any participating restaurants are eligible to receive a free menu item as listed above with a minimum purhcase of $15 (pre-tax and tip). Coats must be new or gently used. Winter coats only. All sizes, child through adult are welcome. All coats collected will be donated to local charities serving those in need, including Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (NPIHN), Face to Face Germantown, The Salvation Army and Cradles to Crayons.