A Growing Donation from Edwin’s Garden
Crayola co-founder Edwin Binney and his wife, Alice, were known for the gardens they planted at their home in the 1920s. Often, the vegetables and flowers they produced were brought into the office and given to employees, as well as their friends and neighbors.
Crayola built on that spirit by creating a company garden. Known as Edwin’s Garden in the founder’s honor, it was dedicated by Binney’s great-granddaughter, Sally Putman Chapman, so children in Easton, Pennsylvania, where the company is based, would benefit from its produce. In 2016, Crayola volunteers harvested the garden and donated 2,400 pounds of food to those in need in the community.
One of the ways the food donations were used was at the Easton Area Community Center’s after-school program. The Center, located in the city’s West Ward, is considered a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture because there isn’t a full-service grocery store within one mile. More than 100 local kids, from kindergartners to eighth-graders, attend the program, which provides a snack and dinner to the children on weekdays. In all, the after-school program serves 50,000 meals each year.
The vegetables grown in the garden include tomatoes, onions, peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins and eggplant. All of the work in the garden is done by dozens of Crayola employees who volunteer on their own time.
Brooke Mitman, the nonprofit's executive director, says that is why the food is especially meaningful to the Center.
“The role Crayola plays is critical,” Mitman says. “We love them for that. We want more companies to do that. The more businesses that can partner with us, the better our whole community will be.”
Eric Zebley, senior corporate communication consultant at Crayola, is a core garden team member. “It is so rewarding to have the company and our employees support this effort that benefits kids in need in the community,” he says.
Since its beginning in spring 2011 with an initial harvest of 1,500 pounds, the garden has produced nearly 11,000 pounds of produce.
Learn more about Hallmark's Corporate Citizenship intiatives here.
