Red Sox Kid Nation presented by Hood
and Cradles to Crayons present
“Everyone is great because everyone can serve.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
About Cradles to Crayons
One day, every child will have the basic things
they need to be safe, warm, ready to learn
and to feel valued.
Mission:
We provide, free of charge, the basic essentials low-income
and homeless children age 0-12 need to be safe, warm, ready to
learn, and feel valued.
We also set a foundation for lasting community change by
mobilizing families, youth and organizations through
meaningful, tangible volunteer opportunities.
Model:
We’re the glue between communities that have and communities
that need. We make it simple for children, families, and
corporations to give their time, treasures and talent to benefit
children in their community. By partnering with social service
agencies for distribution, we have a direct channel to serve tens
of thousands of children in need each year.
2009 Results:
Come visit us at our new Giving Factory location
opening in January 2011:
155 North Beacon Street
Brighton, MA 02135
For more information, please visit
cradlestocrayons.org.
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About Red Sox Kid Nation presented by Hood
Founded in 2004, Red Sox Kid Nation presented by Hood has grown to
become the largest Kids’ Club in Major League Baseball with more than
15,000 members.
Each year, Kid Nation members receive an official Kid Nation membership kit
and valuable discounts on Red Sox tickets and on admission to local
attractions.
Kid Nation is all about being a Red Sox fan, but it’s also about “Kids Helping
Kids.” That’s why each year, 5 percent of each $25 Kid Nation membership
fee goes into a fund used to support HP Hood’s ongoing charitable efforts.
About the Red Sox Kid Nation Captains program
Now in its third year, the Red Sox Kid Nation Captains program presented
by Hood is committed to furthering Kid Nation’s “Kids Helping Kids”
mission. The 12 Captains are elected every two years. Hood and the Red Sox
draw applicants from all over the country. The field is then narrowed to
25 finalists before the public is asked to vote on redsox.com. Now, here we
are—on the verge of the third annual Kid Nation Captains Charitable event.
For the second time in three years, Hood and the Red Sox are partnering
with Cradles to Crayons for a “Warm Up Winter” drive. “Warm Up Winter”
will empower Kid Nation Captains and Kid Nation members across the
country to make a difference. We are confident that, behind their
leadership, the third annual Kid Nation charitable event will be a
tremendous success.
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Warm Up Winter
Through the Warm Up Winter campaign,
kids join together to help other kids stay
warm outdoors. Warm Up Winter offers a
menu of activities you can do in your
neighborhoods, with classmates, friends,
family and neighbors to make a real,
immediate difference in the lives of children
this winter.
On Sunday, November 7, Cradles to Crayons
and the Kid Nation Captains will host a
community service event at The Cradles to
Crayons Giving Factory. Volunteers will
organize needed items for distribution to kids
ages 0-12 living in homeless and low-income
situations in Massachusetts.
Cradles to Crayons
accepts new or
gently-used:
• Children’s clothing
(sizes newborn to
adult large)
• Shoes and boots
(sizes newborn to
adult 10)
• New socks and
underwear
• Hats, gloves, mittens,
and scarves
Volunteers will assist in cleaning toys, sorting
books, packaging outfits, inspecting shoes, or a number of other tasks to
help local children receive the items they need most.
Lunch will be provided, during which we will have a brief program featuring
guest speakers and fun activities.
Warm up Winter
Did you know …
• 43.6 million people are living in poverty, which is 14% of the U.S.
population
• More than one of every 4 working families with children in the U.S.
—despite working hard—doesn’t earn enough to meet their basic needs
like housing, health care, food, transportation, or clothing.
• 305,000 children in Massachusetts are living in low income or homeless
situations—that would fill Fenway Park 8 times!
• The Farmer’s Almanac says we’re in for a “colder than normal” winter.
With heating and oil as expensive as it is, many kids will need coats and
winter gear to keep warm while waiting for the school bus and at home.
Source: USCENSUS BUREAU—Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009
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How to Host a Warm Up Winter
Collection Drive
Stage a collection drive in your community to contribute to “Warm Up Winter.”
Collect new or gently used coats, hats, gloves, scarves—and anything else that will
help keep children ages newborn to 12 warm during the cold winter months.
n
Decide when you want to host your drive:
• When will it begin?
• When will it end?
We recommend a two week long drive in advance of the November
event—October 24 to November 6.
n
Decide where you want to host your drive:
• At your school?
• At your place of worship?
• At a community center?
n
Talk to your principal or a person in charge to receive permission to
host your drive.
n
Fill out our “Host a Drive” registration form online at
cradlestocrayons.org. Mention Kid Nation.
n
Find a large collection box. Try stopping by your local grocery
store or pharmacy and asking for an empty shipping box.
n
Gather some friends to help you decorate and set up the collection
box.
n
Promote your “Warm up Winter” collection drive
• Create flyers to post at school. Ask Cradles to Crayons for help!
• Write a blurb about “Warm up Winter” to be read during the
morning/afternoon announcements at your school.
• Write an article about “Warm up Winter” for publication in your
school newspaper.
• Spread the news by word of mouth. Tell all of your friends and ask
them to help!
n
n
Collect all your donations and package them up
Bring your donations with you to the Cradles to Crayons
warehouse for the event on Nov. 7.
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Warm Up Winter Collection Drive
Goals: Through the collection drive we can provide warm winter gear for
hundreds of kids in New England. We’ve set a goal for the number of coats
we hope to collect, in addition to hats, gloves, boots and other gear.
Let’s reach the following goal together:
DOUBLE:
Marco Scutaro
272*
coats collected
TRIPLE:
SINGLE:
Adrian Beltre
J.D. Drew
325*
255*
coats collected
coats collected
HOME RUN:
Ted Williams
406
coats collected
* Based on 2010 regular
season batting average
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Other Ideas to Help Support
Cradles to Crayons
Raise funds to sponsor
Winter Kidpacks
Along with your collection drive, or as a stand-along
activity, you can sponsor Cradles to Crayons Winter
Kidpacks for $25 per child.
Make Winter Magnets, Jewelry
& Ornaments:
n
Find any puzzles or board games that you
no longer use or are missing pieces
n
Use these pieces to design fun winter
shapes like snowmen or reindeer
n
Hot glue-gun the pieces together
n
Paint and decorate your shapes
n
Sell your finished product to friends and family
n
Donate the money you raise
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Recipe for Hood
Hot Chocolate
8 ounces Hood Simply Smart® Chocolate Fat Free Milk
2 tablespoons Hood Instant Whipped Cream
• Heat chocolate milk over medium heat or in microwave.
• Top with whipped cream.
Recipe for Hood
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
6 Tbl Hood Sour Cream
1 cup Granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
3 cup All purpose flour
3/4 cup Hood Sour Cream
1 cup Unsalted butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg, large
1 tsp Baking soda
• In an electric mixer on high speed, cream together the 6 tablespoons
Hood Sour Cream, butter, sugar, and salt. Turn the mixer off.
• Scrape down the bowl and return the mixer to high speed.
• Add the vanilla and the egg to combine thoroughly. Scrape down the
bowl again.
• Sift the flour and baking soda together into a separate bowl. Turn the
mixer to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture until just
combined.
• Wrap dough in wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the
oven to 375 degrees.
• Using a one-ounce ice cream scoop, place the dough balls onto an
ungreased cookie sheet, spacing them approximately two inches apart.
• Place the cookie sheet into the center of the oven and bake for 18-20
minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
• Immediately place the cookies on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool
completely before storing.
• To serve, dollop with sour cream (3/4 cup should be enough for all
cookies).
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Other Ideas to Help Promote Cradles to Crayons
Chili Cook Off:
n
Choose a date for your cook off
n
Invite friends and neighbors
n
Ask guests to bring a pot of their favorite chili as well as
donations of winter gear
n
Have guests try all the different chili dishes
n
Vote on the winning pot of chili
n
Present the winner with a special certificate
n
Donate the collected items
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Other Ideas to Help Support Cradles to Crayons
Raise funds by holding a good
old-fashioned hot chocolate stand
and bake sale:
n
Decide when you want to host your hot chocolate/bake sale
n
Decide where you want to host your hot chocolate/bake sale
n
Talk to your principal or a person in charge to receive
permission to host your hot chocolate/bake sale
n
Promote your hot chocolate/bake sale (see page 5 for more
details)
n
Gather some friends and family members to help you bake
and sell products
n
Set up a stand where you can sell goodies or sell goodies
door-to-door to your friends and neighbors
n
Donate the money raised to Cradles to Crayons
Candy Grams:
n
Design small cards (candy grams) for people to write notes on
n
Sell candy grams to family, friends, and neighbors: $0.50 for
1 card or $2.00 for 5 cards
n
Have customers write a fun note for any person of their choice
along with the recipient’s contact information
n
Attach notes to candy
n
Deliver to recipients
n
Donate the money you raise
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Recommended Books on Child
Homelessness and Poverty
Grades 3-6
100 Dresses, Eleanor Estes
This book is about Wanda Petronski, an immigrant girl in an American school, who is teased
for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. When she tells her classmates that she has
one hundred dresses at home, she starts a teasing game that eventually ends in a lesson for all.
Where's Home?, Jonathan London
This novel is the story of Aaron and his father who endure tough times on the streets of
California. While trying to find a real home for themselves, Aaron and his father spend time
in a homeless shelter. Aaron is able to survive the troubles of finding a home by using his
“million-dollar ‘magination” and by meeting a new friend.
Monkey Island, Paula Fox
This book is a story of an eleven-year-old boy, Clay Garrity. His father lost his job and left his
family and now Clay’s mother has disappeared. Clay is homeless and lives on the streets of
New York City. In the park he meets two homeless men, Buddy and Calvin. They become
Clay’s new family.
Ivy: Tale of a homeless girl in San Francisco, Summer Brenner
Ivy is a story of a young girl who finds herself homeless on the streets of San Francisco when
she and her father are evicted from their loft. They are living outdoors and there are no
adequate shelters for single fathers.
Grades 7-12
Learning Joy From Dogs Without Collars, Lauralee Summer
This is the powerful memoir of Lauralee Summer, who grew up homeless and impoverished
and eventually came to Harvard on a wrestling scholarship. The work is extremely wellwritten and articulate, and puts an intelligent, vibrant face on poverty.
There Are No Children Here, Alex Kotlowitz
This is the true story about two brothers growing up in poverty in West Chicago. Extremely
vivid and engaging, it captures the two boys’ words and their surroundings perfectly. It
really brings home the idea that these are children just like any others, only they live in a
place and in a situation where they don’t have enough of a chance.
Rachel and Her Children, Jonathan Kozol
Jonathan Kozol spent months among the homeless documenting their stories. “Kozol
systematically strips away the stereotypic litany of what is wrong with welfare recipients,”
and helps us develop a true understanding of the shortcomings of our welfare system.
Though deeply moving and often disturbing, the book is clearly written and easy to read.
Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich
This book chronicles a journalist’s attempt to survive on minimum-wage, entry-level jobs in
various parts of the country. Though it does not focus specifically on child homelessness, this
book debunks some of the general myths of homelessness by sharing stories of people who
have jobs and appear to be getting by, yet many are without homes and other necessities.
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Kids Helping Kids!