Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Keeping crayons out of the trash and getting them into schools in need
Listen
• 1:00
These lightly-used crayons from a local restaurants found a home at a school in Culver City.
(
Priska Neely/KPCC
)
When Sheila Morovati's daughter was little, she was a picky eater. They were always trying out new restaurants to see what would stick. And almost every time they'd sit down at a restaurant, they'd get a brand new pack of crayons.
"They'd barely get used and then before you know it, crayons would be rolling onto the ground or onto the side of the table," said Morovati. "And as I watched the tables get cleared, the crayons were going into the trash."
When she did some research, she learned that millions of crayons from restaurants are thrown away each year. This was in 2009, when Morovati was also seeing arts education programs slashed in schools, with teachers picking up more of the costs for arts supplies.
That year, she founded the Crayon Collection, an organization that pairs restaurants with Title 1 schools, which have a high percentage of low-income families, and Head Start programs in need of art supplies. Schools develop a relationship with local establishments and go to pick up the lightly-used crayons on a monthly basis.
Support for LAist comes from
"Our goal is to say, 'don’t throw them away, they can be used in so many places,'" she said. "So many schools need those desperately. So, they’re not trash."
Morovati estimates that they've distributed approximately 10 million crayons in the past seven years.
Chains like Denny's and Buffalo Wild Wings have signed on, as well as mom-and-pop shops. Morovati hopes to take the organization national, and they already have and international reach. People from different parts of the world – South Africa, Guam, Puerto Rico – contact her regularly looking to start partnerships where they live.
And there's also an environmental element to the project. Since crayons are petroleum-based they don't decompose and when thrown away; they sit in landfills.
"It really is an off-the-beaten-path concept for how we can teach our kids about recycling," said Morovati. "And what I love about it is the kids that get involved – they really feel like this pulls at their heart strings."
Next year, the organization will launch a new chapter by providing schools with lessons for art projects that are designed by local artists and tied to Common Core standards. The group will also arrange for local artists to come to schools and work on the projects with the kids.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist