Cradles to Crayons is a national non-profit organization that has locations in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. Collecting items from the community, it provides children from birth to age 12 living in low-income situations items like toys, books and school supplies. 


Brothers enjoyed their time volunteering at Cradles to Crayons, which serves over 1,200,000 children and empowers over 50,000 volunteers. From top left: Ashley Murphy, Anna Damico, Clare Hegarty, Carolyn McGuire, Gaby Perdomo, Sarah Waro and Tara McBride. From bottom left: Brendan Keeney and Tyler Familo. 

This isn't the first year Zeta Pi has partnered with the organization. In fact, according to VPCS Clare Hegarty, it's a must each year. "Brothers look forward to this event every semester and always ask the VPCS to plan this event," said Hegarty. "I made it my priority to plan an event at Cradles to Crayons, and I even want to plan a second trip next semester." 

The planning begins months in advance, as the organization receives many volunteers and is very impactful in the communities surrounding Philadelphia. Cradles to Crayons receives many donations each week, such as clothes, toys and arts and crafts supplies. The chapter helped organize and sort donated items, which were then used to create "kids packs" that are distributed to children living in low-income or homeless situations.

Brothers heard firsthand how beneficial their volunteerism can be. "Serving at Cradles to Crayons shed a light on interrelated social justice issues which include homelessness, poverty and education," said Sarah Waro. "My favorite part was hearing a story about what a small kid package could do for an individual. The coordinator told us how an agent gave the package to a little boy and instead of going for all the toys, he excitedly selected a pair of new sneakers because then the kids at school would not pick on him anymore." 


Zeta Pi brothers collaborated to sort and organize numerous bags of donations, some of which can be seen behind them. From left: Carolyn McGuire, Gaby Perdomo, Tyler Familo, Anna Damico, Sarah Waro, Brendan Keeney, Ashley Murphy and Clare Hegarty. 

For more information about Cradles to Crayons, visit: cradlestocrayons.org. 

Remember to share your chapter's MDDAY events with magazine@dsp.org to be featured in the upcoming issue of The DELTASIG magazine!