Cradles 2 Crayons

Cradles 2 Crayons provides free packages of clothes, shoes, books, toys, baby safety equipment and school supplies to homeless and impoverished people in the Philadelphia area. In the short online application, they collect background information to figure out which task would be best for you. I was assigned to organize clothing and put together bags. Since I have always been organized it was the perfect task for me.
They informed me in an email that the shifts are mostly:
«Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays
10am-​12noon
1pm-​3pm
Tuesdays
6−8pm
We also hold 2 Saturday volunteer shifts per month but they are at capacity until April.»
This is a warehouse, so dress in layers in the winter. I also saw younger kids volunteering, which I thought was great. Don’t hesitate to volunteer or donate here, just do it!!!

I love this place and the people who run it. It’s a charity that collects clothing, toys, books, and other kid supplies and distributes them to needy kids in the Philadelphia area.
As many charities do, they rely on volunteers to help them carry out their mission. I brought a group of people from my office there this afternoon and it was a humbling and rewarding experience.
When donations come in they are sorted by volunteers and staff. Our group today had the opportunity to put together packages for specific children. You get a list of what the kid needs then you go shopping in the post-​sort area.
As the father of a young boy, it made me sad to think that there are so many kids that don’t have a winter coat or a pair of shoes. But it made me feel better that we were helping some of those kids get some of those basics.
When I worked in the city, I used to take groups from my office to philabundance and I really like the way they run their volunteer operation. C2C reminds me of philabundance and I plan to return on a quarterly basis.