In a world where art programs are often the first to be cut from school budgets, one man is using his passion for manufacturing and design to ensure that hospitalized children still have the opportunity to express themselves creatively.
Bryan Ware, the founder of The Crayon Initiative, started the nonprofit organization in 2013 after a conversation with his wife, a teacher, about the lack of art supplies in schools.
(Listen to the conversation between Crystal Thornton and Bryan Ware in the podcast below.)
Just two years earlier, when budget cuts stripped art programs from California schools, Ware was determined to find a way to put art back into the hands of kids. The idea came to him one evening while coloring with his own children. "I was out to dinner coloring with my six and eight-year-old kids, and it just popped into my head - what if we could get art supplies to schools?" Ware recalled.
Ware knows the power of art. As a child, he turned to drawing and building when he struggled with traditional academics. Now, he's using his passion for art to bring joy and healing to sick children across the country.
"Art kind of kept me in school when I was younger," Ware explained. "I was the more, 'let me build you something, let me draw you something' type. So when art was cut from the California school budget, I knew I had to do something."
But his efforts soon took an unexpected turn. "We were constantly trying to find art supplies to give as a release, an escape, to the pediatric patients," said a friend who worked at a children's hospital. Ware shifted his focus to helping these critically ill children, and the Crayon Initiative was born.
From Ware's kitchen, the volunteer-run organization began cranking out thousands of repurposed crayons each day. "We'd make about three to 5,000 individual crayons in a day," he said. Though it was a labor-intensive process, the impact was immediate.
Now, what started as a small operation in Ware's kitchen has since grown into a nationwide effort, with The Crayon Initiative now partnering with over 260 children's hospitals across the United States. The organization collects used crayons, melts them down, and reforms them into new, easy-to-grip triangular crayons that are then distributed to pediatric patients.
"It takes their mind off of what they're going through. So it gives them the ability for their body to start to heal because they're relaxing and thinking about something else."
Bringing Normalcy and Healing to Hospitalized Children
For Ware, the mission of The Crayon Initiative goes beyond simply providing art supplies. He sees the act of coloring as a powerful tool for helping hospitalized children cope with the challenges they face.
"Their normal is not what yours and my kid playing on the playground is normal," Ware said. "The hospital life is normal to them. So anything you can do to help that child feel normal, whatever that is for them, and give them escape from what they're going through, is so important."
The organization has heard countless stories of the lives they've touched and the impact their crayons have had, from a young boy named Jack who passed away shortly after a photo shoot, to a girl who was mesmerized by the simple act of scribbling with a pink crayon.
"We hear stories not only from that side of it, but the other side of the kid doesn't speak. Some of them won't speak. They're going through something, they're scared. And so the artwork gives them something to do to color or give what they're feeling, to a parent, to a doctor, to a specialist at the hospital," Ware said.
For Ware, the mission is personal. "The misconception I guess is these kids are sick. Their normal is not what yours and my kids playing on the playground is normal. The hospital life is normal to them. So anything you can do to help that child feel normal, whatever that is for them, and give them an escape from what they're going through is worth it."
Reaching for a Million and Beyond
As The Crayon Initiative approaches a major milestone of shipping its one millionth pack of their signature triangle-shaped crayons, Ware is already looking to the future, with plans to grow the organization's output to half a million packs per year.
"If we have the funding to do that, we have the capital, we have the equipment to do that type of volume. We just need more volunteer leads and funding to be able to support that," Ware said.
With the support of schools, community groups, and individual donors, Ware is confident that The Crayon Initiative can continue to expand its reach and bring the healing power of art to even more hospitalized children across the country.
For more information on The Crayon Initiative visit their website at The Crayon Initiative