A pack of crayons is all it takes.
No child should go without a pack of crayons that they can call their own. Please join us on our journey to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn and grow through inspired thought.
In 2011, Courtenay Fields and her husband, Brad, had the extraordinary opportunity to travel to Africa where they discovered the importance of educating children globally through creative thinking. After teaching children in the Volta Region of Ghana and then traveling to Tanzania to see first-hand the importance of supplying children with basic school supplies like crayons and paper, this incredible experience motivated them to seek out partnerships with schools in Ghana and other local and global communities with the goal of delivering essential school supplies to children in need.
Our Mission
The mission of Crayons Matter is to inspire children to uncover their potential and purpose through creative art by providing much needed backpacks filled with school supplies such as crayons, paper, colored pencils, pencils, pencil sharpeners, and inspiration artwork created by children in the United States for a child to call his or her own. If we can first inspire, then we can make the connection to growth and opportunity. Children are the future leaders of their communities and countries. Through creative thought, they can aspire to become teachers, nurses, doctors, business owners, or the next president – and give back to their communities. Our commitment to our partner schools is to lay the groundwork for a consistent, positive, and responsible service footprint.
Help us Make a difference and
Every so often an incredible door opens and reminds me why we all dedicate time, energy, and resources to the Crayons Matter mission. I recently had the opportunity to share the story behind the creation of Crayons Matter foundation via a Lilly Ted Talk.
A Yellow Crayon: The Story
While teaching children a lesson on story telling, creative writing, and art at a school in the Volta Region of Ghana, I passed out worn crayons to my group of 3rd graders. One of my sweet students politely asked me to for a yellow crayon from the miss-matched bag that I held. She could tell that I was surprised that she could identify a specific colored crayon from the bag, after all they all looked black to me – she quickly pointed out the exact crayon that she wanted to complete her assignment. She thanked me and said she had never had a crayon of her own.
It was at this moment that my Population of Me turned into a Population of WE.
In that moment, I knew that we could work work together to ensure that every child has an opportunity to learn and grow through inspired thought. It was in that moment that I knew that Crayons Mattered, and that no child should go without a pack of crayons that they could call their own. It was at this moment that a spark of encouragement, hope, and caring had been lit to provide backpacks filled with essential school supplies and inspiring art work to children so that they can uncover their purpose, potential, and become productive community citizens.
2024 Goals
schools
sponsor schools in Guilford County, Indiana,
Ghana and the Dominican Republic
5,000
backpacks DELIVERED