Crayon Collection: A Win-Win Idea

When Palisadians Sheila and Nadar Morovati began taking their two children out to restaurants, they often received a small box of crayons and a sheet of paper to keep the kids occupied while waiting for food. Sheila noticed the large number of crayons that, after being used once at various tables, were being thrown away at the end of the meal. She thought it was a terrible waste that perfectly good crayons were not being recycled, especially when children in low-income situations do not have art supplies. About two months ago, she came up with a strategy: the Crayon Collection. Morovati reasoned that if an individual preschool could collect and save slightly-used crayons and she could match the school with a group that needed crayons, it would be an efficient and non-costly way of helping those in need. Morovati, a graduate of UCLA, broached the idea at her daughter’s preschool in Santa Monica. School leaders quickly came aboard and asked families to begin saving crayons. She spoke to other moms, and Methodist Preschool on Via de la Paz soon came aboard. Caf’ Vida on Antioch Street and Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood agreed to donate used crayons to Morovati’s organization, but California Pizza Kitchen had to decline, citing liability reasons. ‘Hundreds of thousands of crayons are being thrown away each week throughout America,’ Morovati said. ‘By spreading the word, we can all do our share in collecting crayons and sending them to lower-income areas.’ She is now orchestrating sending the collected crayons to low-income schools, homeless shelters and halfway houses in the Los Angeles area, but ultimately wants to see the campaign go nationwide. ‘It’s so easy,’ she said. Recently, Morovati convinced Islands Restaurant in Marina Del Rey to donate its slightly used crayons to nearby Westside Leadership Elementary, a Title 1 school. ‘The school was thrilled to know that its neighborhood burger joint is going to help,’ Morovati said. Visit: www.crayoncollection.com or e-mail at crayoncollection@gmail.com.