Crayons to Classrooms needs support for upcoming school year

Approximately 86.5 percent of the students served by C2C are identified as low-income. According to local teachers, 75 percent of their students lack the supplies they need to succeed in the classroom. The organization is calling on other organizations, faith groups, neighborhoods, and individuals to host supply drives to collect needed products.

“When [students] have a new backpack, when they have crayons that have not been broken, that is how you can make students feel equal,” said Bonnie Smith, former Dayton educator and C2C founding board member.

“Our mission at Crayons to Classrooms is to support local teachers in at-risk districts, by providing school supplies, at no cost, for their classrooms,” said Dave Hargrove, C2C operations manager.

The organization serves over 3,000 teachers at 135 schools and childcare centers where 60 percent or more of their students participate in the National School Lunch Program. Since opening in 2009, Crayons to Classrooms has distributed more than $36 million school supplies to teachers of students in need. Learn more about Crayons to Classrooms’ mission and how to get involved by visiting crayonstoclassrooms.org.

Here’s what they need:

Groups and individuals can get involved with Stuff the Bus by hosting a virtual or traditional supply drive. Virtual supply drives can be created online through C2C’s support page: https://p2p.onecause.com/2024-stuffthebus. Information about hosting a traditional supply drive can be found in C2C’s Stuff the Bus Coordinator Toolkit.

Supply drives can be held anytime but Stuff the Bus runs from July 1-Aug. 31. Support of Stuff the Bus will help prepare over 54,000 students and their teachers in our region for the upcoming school year. Donations can be dropped off at Crayons to Classrooms’ store located on 1750 Woodman Drive, to the left of the Goodwill Outlet store.

If you are interested in volunteering with Crayons to Classrooms making Classroom Solutions products for local students, assisting teachers through the shopping process, or providing other help through data entry or stocking the store’s shelves, visit C2C’s website for more information: crayonstoclassrooms.org/volunteers.

Meredith Moss writes about Dayton-area nonprofit organizations and their specific needs. If your group has a wish list it would like to share with our readers, contact Meredith: meredith.moss@coxinc.com. Please include a daytime phone number and a photo that reflects your group’s mission.