My name is Ameena Alsmadi, and I am a Senior at Blacksburg High School. I started Little Crayons in November of 2020. Little Crayons is a non-profit that provides free craft kits, educational activities, and resources that will help children grow from the comfort of their home.
Living in quarantine was difficult for my family and I. As an older sister of four siblings, I began to notice the isolation my siblings were facing and the damage it was causing them and other children in the community. I decided to plan and make crafts with my siblings in hopes of lifting their mood. As we completed the little crafts, I began to notice an improvement in their behavior. They would spend the rest of their day happy and bubbly after making a simple craft. It was then I decided to make and share craft kits for other children to enjoy. I partnered with the YMCA Meals on Main program to help distribute the craft kits. Little Crayons became a way for me to help support the children in the New River Valley and stay positive and busy throughout. Children can participate in our services from anywhere.
Little Crayons craft kits are included in the YMCA Meals on Main snack bags. You can pick them up every Friday from 4:00pm to 6:00pm next to the YMCA thrift store in Blacksburg, VA. If you are unable to pick up the craft kits but would like to participate, you can visit our Website. There you can view all our previous crafts and their DIY videos to create your own craft at home! To stay in touch with our craft releases and to be the first to know about different events you can follow Little Crayons on Facebook. You can also sign up for our free email notification service.
Little Crayons provides other services to expand children’s knowledge and help them grow. One of the services we provide is called “Career In A Box”. Career in a box is a new addition to the services provided by Little Crayons. Each month Little Crayons releases 30 boxes dedicated to a specific career. Each box includes information about the chosen career, different toys, hands-on activities, and an exclusive video of a person in that specific career discussing their job and answering educational questions to better help the child understand the field.
Little Crayons is in its beginning stages of development and does not qualify for sponsorships. We heavily rely on donations for funding. If you believe in our cause and are capable of donating please donate on Paypal to @littlecrayons.
Every penny counts!
Thank you for taking the time to read through this!
