Helping Boston Kids Comes Full Circle with Cradles to Crayons, Countdown to Kindergarten

Sept. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- In early August of this year, Boston’s DJ John Dudley Entertainment brought in-kind motivational music and emceeing to Brighton-based Cradles to Crayons and its volunteers, for the 6th Annual Backpack-A-Thon, which took place on City Hall Plaza in Boston. On September 7, 2012, the entertainment company similarly provided entertainment to Boston Public Schools’ 12th Annual Countdown to Kindergarten parade in East Boston’s Central Square, where children received the donated backpacks that were prepared at the Cradles to Crayons event.

Cradles to Crayons is an innovative non-profit serving local children in need, and its Backpack-A-Thon event was set this year under two enormous tents on the plaza, under which more than 700 corporate team volunteers  assembled mountains of backpacks for in-need school aged children across Greater Boston and the Commonwealth. Event volunteers, sponsors, and other supporters represented many organizations, including but not limited to: Citizens Bank Foundation, Baupost Group, Highland Street Foundation, BNY Mellon, Gemline, New Balance Foundation, Staples, Old Mutual Asset Management, Andrew and Bonnie Weiss, Arbella Insurance Foundation, Bertucci’s, Casella, Harold Brooks Foundation, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare Foundation, Magic 106.7 FM, Neighborhood Health Plan, The Parthenon Group, The Progin Foundation, Willis, BlackRock, Boston Financial Data Services, Credit Suisse, Eastern Bank, Eaton Vance Investment Managers, EMD, EMD Serono, Harvard Business School, Patricia and Lynn Mormann, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Reebok, TJX Companies, The Mentor Network, NSTAR, Sovereign Bank Foundation, Winter, Wyman & Company Inc., Beantown Photography, BC Tent & Awning, Building Impact, City of Boston, Color Copy Center Boston, Dunkin Donuts, Fallon Ambulance, Ned Devine’s, Ocean One Productions, and Whole Foods.

DJ John Dudley Entertainment was fortunate to be able once again to lend a hand to such a worthwhile cause and an incredible display of volunteerism and teamwork.  The company’s music and interactive emcee services helped motivate volunteers in stuffing 32,000 backpacks with age appropriate school supplies and personalized notes for local underprivileged school children, wishing them success in the coming school year – and the volunteer army accomplished this feat in approximately two hours!

Cradles to Crayons is the official non-profit partner of DJ John Dudley Entertainment. The entertainment company has been providing in-kind music and emcee services for Cradles to Crayons events, including the Cradles’ annual summer Backpack-A-Thon and annual winter Un-Gala, for many years now.
DJ John Dudley Entertainment also donated services this year to Boston Public Schools’ 12th Annual Countdown to Kindergarten parade, which took place in Bertulli’s Park, Central Square, in Boston’s East Boston neighborhood. More than 170 new City of Boston kindergarten students, escorted by their parents, came prepared for fun, music, activities, and most important, brand new backpacks filled with school tools and supplies – courtesy of Cradles to Crayons’ Backpack-A-Thon!   Cradles to Crayons and DJ John Dudley Entertainment aside, event program donors, volunteers, and supporters included:  Boston Public Schools Countdown to Kindergarten staff, East Boston Social Center, YMCA, Little Folks, Head Start, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), East Boston Savings Bank (EBSB), East Boston Kiwanis Club, State Representative Carlo Basile, Boston Fire Department, Boston Public Library (BPL), For Kids Only after school program, The Boston Home Center, Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP), McDonald’s, Carlo’s Market, Balloon City, Stop & Shop, U.S. Post Office on Meridian Street, MP & Co. Tax & Financial, Rapino’s Funeral Home, Bellino Insurance, East Boston Dental Associates, East Boston APAC, Law Office of Michael D’Avolio, East Boston District Court, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC), Prime Lending Group, and Walgreens.

For more information on Cradles to Crayons, please visit http://www.cradlestocrayons.org, or follow the organization on Twitter (@c2cboston). For further information on Boston Public Schools’ Countdown to Kindergarten, please visit http://www.countdowntokindergarten.org.   For additional information on DJ John Dudley Entertainment services, please visit http://www.DJJohnDudley.com. DJ John Dudley Entertainment can also be found on Facebook (DJ John Dudley Entertainment), Twitter (@thebostondj), YouTube (DJJohnDudley), and LinkedIn (John Dudley).