August is National Crayon Collection Month
By James Pickard
Hey All, James here! I haven’t touched bases with you for awhile and thought that I would stop by and say hi. Hi! I hope that all of you enjoyed your 4thof July festivities this year; I did! Anyways, I wanted to chat with you just for a minute or two about National Crayon Collection month. I know, right? You’re probably thinking to yourself, what is this he’s talking about now? Well, let me explain.
In the spirit of our children returning to school and to help with the eminent trash problem, the founder of National Crayon Collection, Sheila Michail Morovati, came up with an idea to help aid two problems at the same time. How’d she do it you ask? Well, she started up a 501 c3 non-profit organization dedicated to salvaging slightly used crayons from family-oriented restaurants by asking managers of said restaurants to donate the used crayons instead of trashing them. Then she explained that if the restaurant would save the crayons, it would not only have an impact on the environment, because we all know that crayons don’t decompose, but also contribute to the growth of a child’s imagination and learning abilities.
I guess you can look at this as three problems really! By donating these used crayons to your local schools, you’re not only lowering the amount of trash that is going into the landfills you are also aiding children who cannot afford this basic tool to expand their creativity and academic excellence. Finally, you would be helping out the teachers who, out of their own volition, pay out of pocket to provide some of these needs.
Wondering how you can help? Find local family-oriented restaurants and ask if they would be willing to save their gently used crayons. Provide a donation box and don’t forget to return at the end of August and pick-up the crayons that were saved. Then donate them to your local school, that simple. Well it might be a little more involved than that but not much. Here’s a link to the crayon collection websitewhere you’ll learn more about the programs they offer, how to donate, or just get involved by starting your own crayon collection drive.
I hope you enjoyed this article, whether you did or didn’t let me know by dropping me a line at james@dacnw.org. I also want to mention that you can hear me Monday evenings from 7:30pm –9:00pm at Disability Talk NW on KRFP Radio Free Moscow90.3 FM and don’t forget to check out Disability Action Center NW Youtube page.