For thousands of Greater Philadelphia students, the biggest back-to-school challenge isn’t a difficult subject or homework assignment – it’s having the right school supplies and finding clothing and shoes that fit. Three of the top 10 reasons children do not attend school are due to a lack of school supplies and Clothing Insecurity, the lack of affordable, adequate, appropriate clothing. That’s why Cradles to Crayons® (C2C)®, the only large-scale U.S. nonprofit exclusively focused on ending Clothing Insecurity, is working to ensure 75,000 Greater Philadelphia students have the backpacks filled with school supplies they need to start the 2025-26 school year confidently through its “Ready for Learning” initiative.
“Being properly prepared for school is not just about having the right supplies, it’s about a child carrying themselves with confidence and without the stress of feeling singled out,” said Michal Smith, Executive Director, Cradles to Crayons-Philadelphia, “We are not just providing a student with supplies or clothing, we are encouraging equity and inclusion in our most vital spaces.”
In 2024, families with school-aged children spent an average of:
- $875 on back-to-school items
- $141.62 on non-electronic school supplies
- $423.72 on clothing and footwear
(Source: National Retail Federation, 2024)
Lacking these items is detrimental to a child’s confidence and readiness in the classroom, and it can also determine whether they attend school in the first place. Chronic absenteeism—defined as missing at least 10% of the school year—is on the rise across the country.
- Between the 2018-19 and 2022-23 school years, the percentage of chronically absent K-12 students increased significantly, from 15% to 26% (Brookings Institution, 9/9/24).
C2C is working to break down these hidden barriers to education and prepare children from head to toe to feel safe, valued and ready to learn on the first day of school. Items such as backpacks, folders, notebooks, pencils, crayons, and more will be distributed to families through C2C’s network of 145+ service partners throughout Greater Philadelphia being the primary recipient through the beginning of the school year (until supplies are exhausted).
As part of the initiative, more than 500 Greater Philadelphia corporate sponsors and individual volunteers have or will participate in a series of “Backpack-A-Thon®” packing events:
- Delaware Backpack-A-Thon took place on July 1, 2025; more than 100 service partners in Delaware distributed backpacks to 17,500 children statewide
- Philadelphia Backpack-A-Thon at Lincoln Financial Field – August 14, 2025
- “Ready for Learning” is C2C’s national initiative to help close the readiness gap by delivering 250,000 backpacks filled with supplies and quality clothing to children in low-income and homeless situations through a network of more than 300 service partners in the Chicagoland, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia Tri-State regions.
“For far too many children, the start of the school year means worrying about having clothing that fits or basic supplies to fill a backpack. This impacts a child’s ability to engage in school and is a roadblock to long-term academic success,” said Christine Morin, CEO of Cradles to Crayons. “In addition to our corporate partners, we welcome support from the broader community as we collect donations of new and gently used clothing to help kids begin the year ready to learn.”
