Crayola Sale

Crayola Sale canceled due to ongoing Covid-19 health and safety uncertainty

For a third year, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes and Crayola Canada to cancel the popular Crayola Sale. Prior to 2020, this annual event had taken place every fall for more than 30 years. Since its inception, over $1 million has been generated from the annual warehouse sale and Crayola’s workplace campaign.

Crayola Canada and UWCKL Staff touring Edwin Binney’s Community Garden in 2021.

“With the continued uncertainty, we have made the very difficult decision to not have the sale this year, as the health and safety of staff, customers and volunteers is our highest priority,” explains Paul Murphy, General Manager of Crayola Canada. “The cancellation of the sales does not change Crayola Canada’s commitment to our relationship with the UWCKL. We will continue to work with them and find new ways to support their efforts within our community.”

Our work continues with Edwin Binney’s Community Garden, located on Crayola’s property in Lindsay, where we have donated over 30,000 lbs. of fresh produce to food programs in the City of Kawartha Lakes. If you would like to support our education centre and food security program please visit our site!

By cklunitedway|2022-09-19T13:09:45-04:00September 21st, 2022|Crayola Sale, News|Comments Off

30th Annual Crayola Sale Cheque Presentation

2018 Crayola Cheque Presentation

On Friday, November 2nd 2018, a group of United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes Staff, Board members and volunteers met at the Crayola Canada factory to be presented with a cheque from the 30th Annual Crayola Sale. The sale is held every year at the Lindsay Exhibition Fairgrounds (LEX) and attracts shoppers from all over the province; some shoppers even travel from the United States. The sale creates both local and global impacts as several attendees return each year to purchase Crayola products for mission trips to Mexico, Cuba and even Zimbabwe! Other attendees purchase goods for Holiday presents, or as supplies for classrooms.

Last year, the team at Crayola Canada set a goal of raising $40,000 to reach a total of $1,000,000 donated to the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes over 29 years. This goal was exceeded in 2017, and the success was continued this year with another $42,620.80 raised. United Way will use these funds to continue implementing their vision statement of crafting human care agendas within and across our communities, building coalitions around these agendas and increasing investments in these agendas by expanding and diversifying resource development. The staff, board members and volunteers at United Way work tirelessly to ensure that these investments have recognizable impacts, and extend their thanks to Crayola for leading the way for other businesses to invest in our community.

2018 thank you sign, cake, certificate and balloons.

Crayola Canada believes that every person in the community deserves an opportunity for a quality and colourful life: “We are very fortunate that the annual Crayola Sale can assist children, youth, and adults in the City of Kawartha Lakes. The sale started simply as a yard sale with a few Crayola products added in. It was the beginning of a long-term relationship and, thanks to the efforts of countless volunteers from Crayola, the UWCKL, and the community, it has grown to its current form.”

Penny Barton Dyke, Executive Director of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes shares her gratitude: “30 years! Leadership, dedication and commitment by the Crayola Canada company and its employees has meant thousands of children, families and individuals have been able to access critical programs that help them in real time. Our campaign this year is about inspiring others to give and develop workplace campaigns. Crayola and its team of employees are leaders in the truest fashion. Their legacy has been and will now continue to be about their commitment to our families and this community. Now with its latest gift of land use, Crayola is once again leading the way by embarking on a new way of investing in people: a true community champion.”

United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is grateful for their partnership with the Crayola Canada team and have recently launched an exciting development in this partnership. In 2019, Crayola Canada, Fleming College and United Way CKL will partner to develop 30,000 sq. ft. of unused land on the lot adjacent to the Crayola building into their largest Community Garden. Some of the funds raised at the 30th Annual Crayola Sale will go towards this Community Garden project, which will have the capacity to provide fresh produce to hundreds of people in the City of Kawartha Lakes.

2018 Crayola Staff Thank You

By cklunitedway|2019-01-20T12:06:08-05:00November 2nd, 2018|Campaign, Community Gardens, Crayola Sale|Comments Off

Crayola Canada—United Way CKL Community Garden Ground Breaking

United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is embarking on a very exciting new Community Garden project in partnership with Crayola Canada, Fleming College Frost Campus, and Bob Mark New Holland. We have entered into a land use agreement to turn the 30,000 sq. ft. of unused land at Crayola Canada into our largest ever Community Garden! This garden will enhance the availability of fresh produce for programs such as the Good Food Box, collective kitchens, Meals on Wheels, cooking classes, food banks, and food cupboards. Fleming College will provide expertise, while also offering students unique learning opportunities through school projects and volunteering. Bob Mark New Holland will provide equipment and expertise as they volunteered to do our first ground breaking in October of 2018.

The community garden will be a closed space, fenced in and locked, with access limited to staff and volunteers from United Way and Fleming College, as well as agencies involved in the programming.
Community gardens yield more than food, they also provide many teaching opportunities and draw people together to help strengthen our neighbourhoods.

See below for some pictures of our first ground breaking, on Monday October 15th, 2018.

The First Ground Breaking – Group Shot

By cklunitedway|2019-01-20T12:01:51-05:00October 15th, 2018|CKL - United Way, Community Gardens, Crayola Sale, News|Comments Off

The Crayola Sale is almost here!

As Saturday, October 13th moves closer, plans for the 30th Annual Crayola Sale are well under way. This is an exciting event as last year, the team at Crayola achieved their goal of donating more than $1,000,000 to the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes from the past 29 years of the sale.

Crayola Canada employees volunteer their time to help run the Sale and are also heavily reliant on help from the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes and other dedicated volunteers. These employees and volunteers donate their time to help set up, run, and clean up after the event.

Crayola’s team is very enthusiastic about participating in this year’s sale. One Crayola Canada staff member expressed her pride: “United Way offers support to such a wide variety of people in a wide variety of ways especially the most vulnerable within our community. It’s good to know I contribute a tiny bit towards that.”

The excitement is in the air every year at the sale, another Crayola employee said

“I love to walk the line before people enter the building. They are always so excited. It’s great to hear what they are hoping to find and knowing what’s inside you can give them a bit of a head start as to where to look. It’s the energy of the line that truly gets me motivated for the event.”

Crayola Canada believes that every person in the community deserves an opportunity for a quality and colourful life:

“We are very fortunate that the annual Crayola Sale can assist children, youth, and adults in the City of Kawartha Lakes. The sale started simply as a yard sale with a few Crayola products added in. It was the beginning of a long-term relationship and, thanks to the efforts of countless volunteers from Crayola, the UWCKL, and the community, it has grown to its current form.”

The impact that the sale creates is both local and global. Several attendees return each year to purchase Crayola products for mission trips, some people going to Mexico and Cuba or even Zimbabwe! Other attendees purchase goods for Holiday presents, or as supplies for classrooms.

United Way is extremely grateful for their partnership with the Crayola Canada team and have recently launched an exciting development in this partnership. In 2019, Crayola Canada, Fleming College and United Way CKL will partner to develop 30,000 sq. ft. of unused land on the lot adjacent to the Crayola building into their largest Community Garden. Some of the funds raised at the 30th Annual Crayola Sale will go towards this Community Garden project, which will have the capacity to provide fresh produce to hundreds of people in the City of Kawartha Lakes.

The sale will take place on Saturday, October 13th from 8am-12pm at the Lindsay Exhibition Fairgrounds and is open to the public. All purchases at the sale must be made in cash.

By cklunitedway|2019-01-20T12:10:38-05:00October 3rd, 2018|community, Crayola Sale, News|Comments Off

Can you imagine a garden here?!

Next spring there will be!

United Way has been working on food security initiatives for many years. We manage 40 community garden plots and have helped to build over 70 more plots throughout City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton. One of our goals is to increase the yields of fresh produce to use through the good food box program, collective kitchens, Meals on Wheels, cooking classes, food banks and food cupboards.

Crayola Canada is a proud supporter of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes. They are always looking for ways to further support our United Way. On their property they have 30,000 square feet of unused land. They believe that this land should be used to benefit the community. Crayola has entered into a land use agreement with United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes. This land will be used for large scale gardening and harvesting of produce to benefit the community.

Fleming College is also part of this groundbreaking project. For many years, Fleming College has been a community partner on several initiatives with the United Way and some of its funded agencies. They will be providing equipment and expertise to assist with this food security initiative. This project will also offer their students unique learning opportunities through school projects, volunteering, placements and paid internships.

The United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is grateful to Crayola for the use of this land which will be used to grow food and provide learning opportunities for students at all levels. Thank you to Fleming College for their dedication to this project, as they helped us with our initial strategic planning. Thank you also to Roger Hill from Hill’s Florist and Greenhouse who created preliminary designs for the space.

This social innovation garden project will enhance the availability of fresh produce for programs such as the Good Food Box, collective kitchens, Meals on Wheels, cooking classes, food banks, food cupboards and the Kawartha Lakes Food Source. This project is a true testament to what is possible when we come together as a community.

This fall the ground will be ploughed in preparation for planting in the spring!

By cklunitedway|2019-01-20T12:12:17-05:00September 21st, 2018|community, Community Gardens, Crayola Sale, Garden Days|Comments Off