Local nonprofit Cradles to Crayons focuses on clothing insecurity

Several labeled clothing bins at Cradles to Crayons’ Nicetown warehouse – known as the Giving Factory – sat empty last week.

The most acute shortages are in the larger sizes, and there is a need for socks, underwear, warm winter coats and boys’ pants, said Michal Smith, executive director of the organization’s Philadelphia branch, which collects, sorts and distributes donated clothing.

“I don’t think kids grow as fast, so there’s not as much clothing in the stream,” she told Metro. “If you’re not growing as fast, you wear them out before we can get them.”

As average temperatures drop, low-income families are struggling to afford clothing for children who have outgrown or worn out last year’s winter outfits. Smith said rising prices and the loss of the expanded Child Tax Credit has not helped.

“While there’s funding for housing, there’s funding for food insecurity with SNAP, there’s absolutely no funding for clothing insecurity, and a winter coat can be very expensive,” she added.

Philadelphia’s high levels of poverty mean thousands of kids lack proper and appropriate clothing, Smith said. Nearly a third of the city’s under-18 population live below the federal poverty line, which is $27,750 for a family of four, according to census data.

Cradles to Crayons is a nonprofit that provides clothing, diapers, school supplies, hygiene kits and other essentials for children ages 12 and under to about 300 local social services organizations, who then distribute the items to families.

Smith said the organization takes the load off of other groups serving vulnerable families, such as shelters and counseling centers. Cradles to Crayons uses an online ordering system, allowing partnering nonprofits to pick up bundles of clothing.

“They don’t have to source it. They don’t have to store it,” Smith added. “I call it our multiplier effect. We really help them to do more because of what we provide.”

The charity was founded in Boston and expanded to Philadelphia in 2007. It also has a warehouse in Chicago and a digital presence in New York and San Francisco.

Eighteen staff members work out of the Giving Factory, which occupies part of a massive former factory near Fernhill Park, and Smith said the nonprofit is on pace to serve about 230,000 children this year in the city and suburbs.

And while Cradles to Crayons frequently hosts volunteer groups of 100 or more from corporations and other entities, just a handful were helping to sort clothes on a recent weekday afternoon.

“It’s a great organization,” said Monique Fillis, who described herself as a frequent volunteer, as she combed through winter hats and gloves.

Volunteer shifts can include children as young as five, and no group is too small, Smith said.

Donated items arrive in the warehouse in large blue bins before they are sorted by gender and size. Smith estimated that staff and volunteers discard about 30% of the clothing due to poor condition; through the fabric is recycled through another agency, she added.

The Giving Factory also incorporates a shoe cleaning station and an area for children’s books to be categorized.

Gently-used clothing can be dropped off at the Giving Factory and at over a dozen other sites, mostly in the suburbs, listed on the nonprofit’s website.

Monetary donations are also encouraged, as some items, including underwear, socks and diapers, are purchased new.

For more information, visit www.cradlestocrayons.org/philadelphia.