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Giving crayons a new life for hospitalized kids

Posted at 4:28 PM, Apr 23, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-23 20:48:56-04

COLORADO SPRINGS – Hundreds of volunteers came together Tuesday in Colorado Springs to sort and organize thousands of crayons.

The group with CSAA Insurance worked on behalf of the non-profit The Crayon Initiative, a group that works to recycle used and unwanted crayons to give to hospitalized children for art projects.

Volunteers worked for hours sorting the crayons into separate boxes according to color. Those crayons will now be melted down to be repurposed and sent to Children’s Hospitals in all 50 states.

The Crayon Initiative was established in 2014, finding that giving hospitalized children a creative outlet helps them cope with feelings of anxiety, their illness and can provide a sense of normalcy.

Since its inception, the organization has collected more than 30 million crayons and donated more than 225,000 new packs to children.