Cradles to Crayons, Philly to Boston
We volunteered with Cradles to Crayons for the entire week, similar to the work we did in Philly, but still very different. The Boston C2C is a much larger operation, due to its older age, and relies upon hundreds more volunteers to keep up with the constant flow of orders. (I’m speaking under the assumption that you’ve read the C2C article on the main page). This made things interesting because we had the opportunity to work with a diverse population of volunteers—from dozens of lawyers at one time, to young families to the “regulars”. Obviously this location has plenty of help, which could’ve left us rather unneeded. However, due to the experience we gained with the operation in the Philly Branch, we fell into the role of helping manage the dozens of volunteers who were clueless about the “Giving Factory” procedure.
Another major difference from the Philly Branch was the number of employees. In Philly we got to know each and every one of the employees on a rather personal level, considering there are only a handful of full-time employees in the warehouse. We even had the opportunity to stay with two of them for a few nights, thanks to their generous offers. One of the first nights we stayed with Joe, who—with the help of his buddies—made us feel right at home the second we stepped in his door. Later in the week we took up Jennifer, the founder of the Philly Chapter, on her offer to spend a few nights in her beautiful home, as well. This was a big treat, because it provided the opportunity for us to pick her brain about the steps she took to develop her own nonprofit chapter and any ideas or advice she might have for us, which ended up being extremely informative. We also got to hang out with her kids a little bit; we played some Rummikub with her daughter, Olivia, and enjoyed some Belgium waffles with them all in the morning. It’s always refreshing to be around a family once in a while, it gives us a little piece of home every time.
Although both Philly and Boston manage the same operation, we had totally different experiences at the two locations, and without a doubt, they were both fantastic in their own way. On another note, our experiences with these organizations wouldn’t be half the fun if it weren’t for the incredible people that invite us into their lives and make us unconditionally feel at home.
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