Chicago-born actor Cortez Smith volunteers at Cradles to Crayons’ Backpack-A-Thon Nancy Rivera Chin
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The Cradles to Crayons “Ready for Learning” initiative is providing supplies for the 2024/2025 school year to “empower children to feel safe, valued, and ready to learn,” maximizing academic success. Through their annual Backpack-A-Thon, C2C will distribute 252,000 backpacks filled with folders, notebooks, pencils and (of course) crayons.
“When children have essential school supplies and basic necessities like clothing and shoes, they can go back to school with self-confidence, excitement, and dignity,” said Lynn Margherio, Founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons.
In C2C’s fight to ensure students return to school “equipped and ready to thrive,” they have received support from Hollywood’s best via video messages in support of the cause.
“For the ninth year in a row [Backpack-A-Thon] is bringing together more than 700 volunteers to fill over 30,000 backpacks,” said Daniel Kyri of NBC’s Chicago Fire. “With this assurance of having the supplies that they absolutely need, they can approach their first day back to school with the same self confidence and excitement as their peers.”
More influential Chicago figures chimed in with thanks to volunteers, including DeWayne Peevy, VP and Director of Athletics at DePaul University, and Cortez Smith from Showtime’s The Chi.
“This is true Chicago spirit on display,” said Peevy to volunteers in the video of support.
In the United States, 40 percent of households with children struggle to afford their weekly expenses. With the cost of living higher than ever, many families don’t have the means to provide their children with school supplies, proper clothes and shoes. The estimated average cost of preparing a child for the start of a new school year is up to $890.07, totaling over $41 billion across the United States.
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“If kids’ basic needs aren’t met, the long-term effects can be devastating,” said Margherio. “Three of the top 10 reasons children do not attend school are due to Clothing Insecurity and lack of school supplies.”
The events take place across the tri-state region making stops in Chicago, Boston, Wilmington and Philadelphia. Beyond Backpack-A-Thon, C2C will distribute one million packages of clothing, shoes, diapers, and essentials, to families and children across its network in 2024. In its 22 years as an organization, Cradles to Crayons have supplied nearly 6 million packages of essentials to children who don’t have access to necessary resources.
