Building safe, healthy communities starts with ensuring our children have the essentials they need to thrive. That’s where the nonprofit Cradles to Crayons comes in: founded in 2002, their mission is to provide children with well-fitting and weather-appropriate clothing, free of charge. Their goal? That one day, every child will have what they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued—and with our recent donation drive, Temple Health helped Cradles to Crayons get one step closer to making that a reality.
Throughout October, the TUH-Main Campus Office of Patient Experience solicited donations of new and gently used clothing, including pajamas, winter coats, hats, gloves and mittens, sweatshirts and sweatpants, new socks and underwear, and shoes, boots, and sneakers. We also asked for new hygiene items, new arts and crafts and school supplies, books for ages 0-12, and new diapers, pull-ups, and diaper wipes.
The response was overwhelming: Patient Experience collected over 20 bags of donations (and is still receiving items!). “The generosity and kindness of our Temple team always blows me away,” says Shamin Mathews, MSW, LSW, Manager of Community Engagement & Volunteer Services. “Without hesitation, colleagues from all over TUH-Main Campus bring in items to donate. The love our hospital has for our community is incredible—and heartwarming.”
Volunteers from Patient Experience and the Patient and Family Advisory Council then brought the bags to Cradles and Crayons’ Giving Factory, where they helped package the supplies to be distributed to local children. It was a great way to give back to our community, and to ensure our neighbors have comfortable, warm clothing as the weather cools down. “We’re all just people caring for other people,” Mathews says. “We couldn’t do any of this without our team.”
