Thinking spring? The Lucy Hobbs Project and Cradles to Crayons have fall on the brain.

More than 230 attendees gathering in Philadelphia to celebrate five years of exemplary women in dentistry arrived with backpacks and school supplies in tow April 27.

At its upcoming annual celebration, Thursday and Friday in Philadelphia, the organization invited attendees to donate back-to-school supplies for Cradles to Crayons in lieu of an attendance fee.

Cradles to Crayons serves as a resource for communities in need and a hub of civic engagement in Greater Philadelphia. The nonprofit organization provides children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.

During their upcoming August Backpack-A-Thon™ event to prepare children for the new school year, they will distribute 30,000 backpacks. Inside each backpack, they aim to include one Back-to-School card featuring words of encouragement.

The Lucy Hobbs Project members were happy to turn their creativity toward that purpose as well.

Want to learn more? Contact Christina Weinhardt at cweinhardt@cradlestocrayons.org or visit: https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/philadelphia/news-philadelphia/

Rachel Mele, representing Vennli and Lola Lawal, from the University of Detroit Mercy offer a healthy helping of encouragement in the form of a Back-to-School card, according to Cradles to Crayons on Thursday evening at Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The Lucy Hobbs Project partners with Cradles to Crayons as part of its giving back initiative.