Cradles to Crayons Launches Its Gear Up for Winter Program

Philadelphia, PA- Cradles to Crayons® a nonprofit organization that equips children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play, commences its Gear Up for Winter® initiative, a program aiming to provide families and children with warm winter items necessary for the approaching chilling temperatures.

This year’s Gear Up for Winter program intends to support over 19,000 children in the greater Philadelphia region in need and keep them safe and warm during this harsh season. The organization aims to fulfill every request made for a winter coat, hat, and gloves, as well as warm layers of clothing, waterproof winter boots, and other basic essentials. Individually tailored "KidPacks" are also packed and distributed based on each child’s specific needs, providing all children with the items they require to stay healthy and engaged in their childhood. Cradles to Crayons is urgently asking to fill the demand for 14,000 coats, hats and gloves. The need for winter essentials has sharply increased over the years for all sizes from infant through adult medium. The organization emphasizes preparedness and is looking to the community for assistance now.

Winter brings harsh and often unpredictable conditions, increasing Cradles to Crayons’ urgency of financial and product donations. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are less able to regulate their body temperature compared to adults. As a result, children are more likely to develop significant health effects when they are exposed to environmental temperature extremes.

“Though our goal is to provide families and children in need year round, it’s no secret that the winter’s harsh temperatures result in the need for cold-weather items to spike,” said Michal Smith, executive director of Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia. “Unfortunately, staying warm both indoors and outdoors is a struggle for thousands of children in need, so this year we are focusing on preparedness, ensuring that children have the essentials to stay safe prior to the temperatures dropping.”

About Cradles to Crayons

Cradles to Crayons launched in 2002 and has operations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The nonprofit provides children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. They supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need. Cradles to Crayons mobilizes communities of plenty on behalf of communities of need, recycling and reusing high-quality children’s goods and engaging thousands of youth and adults in tangible service activities each year that benefit local children. For more information, please visithttps://cradlestocrayons.org/philadelphia/.