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Suffolk University Holds Annual Service Day!

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Matilda Ivarsson
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Erica Markle
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Suffolk chapter.

Fifty volunteers gathered in the cafeteria of Donahue at noon on March 30th 2012. Half of us, myself included, were heading towards Brighton to help out at Cradles to Crayons. After a bit of confusion, and getting lost between T stations, we finally arrived at our destination. Upon our arrival, we were given an introduction, an orientation, and our different tasks.

Cradles to Crayons is an organization that supplies children up to 12 years of age who are homeless or in low-income situations with all the necessities including, clothes, shoes, and toys. Their mission is to help make these children feel safe, warm, and valued. Lynn Margherio came up with this idea when she realized how overwhelmed her nieces and nephews were with toys and never worn clothing, and thus, founded the establishment in 2000. She felt that it would be amazing if all these toys and clothing could make their way to families in need. It started in Boston, and in 2006 a second Cradles to Crayons opened in Philadelphia, PA.

I joined the “outfit team.” We helped sort clothes, making sure they were clean and without rips to then put together packages of outfits. One package contained: four shirts (two long sleeved and two short sleeved), two pairs of pants, one dress or skirt, underwear, and socks. All of the clothes were divided into different shelves by age. We worked on putting together adorable little outfits for three and four year old girls. Not surprisingly, most of the packages turned out pink! Another kind of package was the “Kid Pack.” It is a customized package for an assigned child with everything they had reported that they were in need of. The “emergency packs” reach the family within 24 hours, otherwise the packages reach their destinations within five to seven weekdays.

This organization creates volunteer opportunities for thousands of people, companies and families. Last year 87,000 children received clothes, toys, and shoes from Cradles to Crayons in Massachusetts. Anyone can help, if this catches your attention please visit their website, and see how you can help!

Check out more photos of Suffolk’s Service Day in this week’s Photo Blog section!

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Matilda is our Style Section Editor from Sweden. Born in Sweden, she grew up partially in Paris and Boston as well. Entering her Junior year, she has been with Her Campus for three years!
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Originally from Connecticut, Erica attends Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a senior, majoring in public relations, and minoring in marketing. She founded Suffolk's chapter of Her Campus along with co-Campus Correspondent, Mackenzie Newcomb. has interned at a few start-up companies including Quincy Apparel and Good to Go Organics. She was also a public relations intern at Regan Communications Group, and is currently the advertising/marketing intern at The Improper Bostonian Magazine. Erica also works on Newbury Street at Jack Wills University Outfitters, a British clothing company that is expanding across America. She is very interested in the world of fashion, and hopes to make it big doing marketing/PR for a fashion magazine or as a publicist in New York City or LA upon graduation. In her free time, she enjoys shopping, hanging out with friends, going to the beach, reading, writing, and dancing.