What We Do
This project began when Megan Tannenbaum found out that most teachers, families, and organizations simply throw broken crayons away. She knew these crayons could be put to good use and The Great Crayon Project was born.
Since March 2018, The Great Crayon Project has donated over 3,402 crayons and exchanged over 1,525 crayons!
It all starts with a bag of broken crayons
Broken crayons are collected in three ways:
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Schools
We do crayon exchanges in schools - students bring in bags of broken crayons and we give them new rainbow shaped crayons on the spot.
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Organizations
Organizations may not necessarily want to do the exchange but have broken crayons to contribute to our project.
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Restaurants
Many restaurants offer crayons to children to color with while they wait for meals. These are often left behind and subsequently thrown away. Now they are being collected and contributed to our project.
Want to contribute? Contact Us.
Preparing the crayons
Once all the crayons are collected, they have to be peeled, washed and melted into molds.
We are pleased to have partnered with The ARC Otsego, an organization that hires and works with adults with developmental disabilities. We hire their residents through The ARC's work program to help us peel the crayons. This partnership has become a huge help for our project and we love supporting the residents and The ARC Otsego Organization.
Creating new crayons
The crayons are then melted down into various shapes and sizes and split into three categories:
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Donate
We donate crayons to kid-friendly events and organizations. Our goal is to encourage art and creativity in children.
We donate everywhere from libraries, to Reading is Fundamental organizations, to children's hospitals and everything in between.
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Exchange
Rainbow crayons are exchanged for bags of broken crayons at schools.
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Sell
We sell our rainbow crayons in various shapes and sizes. All profits purchase school supplies for children.
Want to support our project? Check out our Etsy store!