{"id":70,"date":"2012-12-27T16:57:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T21:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oshetablogs.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/27\/cray-cray-for-cradles-to-crayons"},"modified":"2012-12-27T16:57:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-27T21:57:00","slug":"cray-cray-for-cradles-to-crayons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/shalominthecity\/2012\/12\/cray-cray-for-cradles-to-crayons\/","title":{"rendered":"Cray-cray for Cradles to Crayons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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When the kids came down last week and found a scroll on the tree detailing their week of generous giving, Tyson was incredulous.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cMom!\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019re kids we don\u2019t have anything to give\u2026I\u2019m broke!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n


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And he\u2019s right.\u00a0 <\/span>The boy is broke, primarily because he spends every bit of birthday money or chore allowance on the latest and greatest action figure\/battling card game. <\/span><\/div>\n

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But, he\u2019s wrong because does have something to give\u2026 he\u2019s got stuff.\u00a0 <\/span>The action figures, the cards, the wii games, the outgrown jeans\u2026part of the problem his room is a mess is because of stuff.\u00a0 <\/span>The copious clutter is filling his closet, creeping out from under his bed, spilling over his bookcase\u2013 threatening to smother him in the night or cause me to slip and fall on my way to putting away laundry\u2014whichever happened first.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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And he\u2019s got time.\u00a0 <\/span>Time to go on play dates, time to practice with the drama club, time to annoy his siblings, and time to negotiate a later bedtime\u2026to buy himself more time<\/i>.<\/span><\/div>\n

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My kids are resource rich and they didn\u2019t even know it, which is why last week, they each took a turn volunteering for two hours at Cradles to Crayons. <\/a>(C2C).<\/span><\/div>\n

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T.J. had the first turn on a rainy Monday morning.\u00a0 <\/span>I explained to him what we would be helping sort items for needy kids, and to be honest, \u00a0I was nervous that the experience would be a headache.\u00a0 <\/span>You never know if the environment will be kid friendly or the staff would have the patience and skill necessary to interact with both adult and kid volunteers, but I was pleasantly surprised. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

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Volunteering at C2C was so much fun and this social-justice minded parent\u2019s dream!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

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We checked in at the front desk and received our printed nametags from a greeter in a purple apron who then invited us to hang out on purple bleachers while we waited on the the rest of the volunteer crew to file into the \u201cGiving Factory\u201d (yeah, they call the warehouse they put together needy children\u2019s orders a giving factory\u2026how cool is that?).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Michael Jackson\u2019s poppy awesomeness played over the P.A. system and I noticed this quote on the wall by Dr. King:<\/span><\/div>\n

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Which afforded a great conversation with T.J. about greatness and helping others.\u00a0 <\/span>Fun music, personalized name-tags, a warm greeting, and teaching moments for my kids!\u00a0 Cradle to Crayons, y<\/span>ou had me at \u201cShamon!\u201d.<\/span><\/div>\n

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After a brief intro about the organization and their goals, we were directed to our station.\u00a0 <\/span>Being mindful of my kids, Dave C., \u00a0the group volunteer coordinator assigned us in the most logical of all places for kids pre-Christmas\u2026the toy station!<\/span><\/div>\n

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Here are some of my favorite moments of the kids serving.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\"Click<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Create<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free picture collage<\/a> customized with Smilebox<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


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During his shift, Tyson became the toy consultant for the group since he was the only kid serving.\u00a0 A<\/span>\u00a0good number (42 to be exact) of the toy packs put together that day was Tyson tested and approved to go out to the kids.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Trinity made a friend during her time of serving.\u00a0 <\/span>A five-year old girl named, Kiera where in typical girl fashion, they\u2019d \u201cshop\u201d the donation bins of toys that needed to be organized, compared their finds, \u201ctested for quality\u201d (played) and then skipped (yes, there was skipping involved) over to the Step Three bins for the toys to be checked one more time and then assembled into toy packs.<\/span><\/div>\n

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T.J.\u00a0 <\/span>was the puzzle master!\u00a0 <\/span>His favorite part was finding puzzles, counting the pieces to make sure the toy was complete (because as Mr. Dave said, \u201cwhat kid wants to get a puzzle that\u2019s missing a piece? It steals from the joy of receiving the toy\u201d\u2026see, amazingly awesome standards and people at C2C) and then neatly boxing it up.\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes he had to \u201csuffer\u201d in service and actually put the puzzle together to make sure it was complete.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Yeah, I\u2019m a sadistic mom, making my kids serve others by playing with toys.<\/span>

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Although the serving process was so well organized and the experience was fun, what I appreciated most was their thoughtful approach to giving to needy children.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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C2C has high standards for what they give to children in need because they recognize the value in preserving dignity in the giving transaction.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In their intro speech they say, \u201cwe want to give children everything they need to feel comfortable, valued, and ready to learn\u201d and I love that.\u00a0\u00a0They approach social justice in the same holistic and respectful way T.C. and I hope to teach our kids and practice in our church: giving to those in need not just to meet their need so they no longer suffer but to attribute value and dignity so they no longer struggle with self-worth.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We\u2019re going back to help in January when they need the most help organizing, cleaning, and packing clothes and toys.\u00a0 <\/span>Check here later next week and I\u2019ll put up a Doodle to organize a group of Boston area families to go with us.\u00a0 <\/span>They have Saturday slots available and family volunteer days, which I\u2019ll post more once the offices reopen next week.<\/span><\/div>\n

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If you\u2019d like to help but cannot commit to a volunteer shift here are some ways we learned in the wrap up after we served from Lynn Margherio, the founder of C2C.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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