Torrance, CA (May 24, 2016): Bishop Montgomery students recently brought thousands of crayons to St. John Fisher School in Palos Verdes to prepare them for delivery to students at Our Lady of Victory School, the USO, Alexandria House, a shelter for women and children in LA, and schools in Guatemala. The crayons had been collected from local South Bay restaurants including Island's, California Pizza Kitchen, and Elephant Bar through No Crayon Left Behind South Bay, an organization dedicated to putting crayons into the hands of underprivileged children. The restaurants save the crayons children leave behind after their kids' meals for collection by NCLB.
Four Bishop freshmen-- Derek Turbide, an SJF alumnus, Kennedy Dierks, Katie Miyamoto, and Lauren Turner (pictured at right)— oversaw the event and helped the students sort and bundle. The assembly-line organization in St. John Fisher's Barrett Hall allowed for quick and efficient work. St. John Fisher’s younger students sorted the crayons by color and the junior high students bundled them into sets.
Spearheaded by Dierks and Tracey Martin, Vice-Principal and eighth grade teacher at St. John Fisher, the collaboration was both fun and rewarding for the students. "It's amazing how much can get done when so many people work together. Prepping this many crayons would take one person hours, if not days," says Dierks. "Working together, we got the job done and were able to touch so many children's lives in such an simple way." In less than 45 minutes, the group had over 6,000 crayons prepped and ready for delivery. Dierks took some of the bundles for the donation to Guatemala, and Ms. Martin took the rest for delivery to Our Lady of Victory, Alexandria House, and the USO.
Getting crayons into the hands of underprivileged children is the mission of No Crayon Left Behind. Since its inception in 2014, the South Bay chapter of No Crayon Left Behind has put crayons in the hands of children in countries around the world including Uganda, Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Local deliveries include shelters for women and children in downtown Los Angeles, like Covenant House and the above-named Alexandria House, as well as Los Angeles elementary schools including St. Columbkille, Holy Name of Jesus, St. Joseph, Our Lady of Victory, Immaculate Heart and St. Lawrence of Brindisi.