Crafts with Conviction (CwC) is a partnership with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) and the Ohio Department of Youth Services (ODYS). Incarcerated men, women, and youth transform raw materials into valuable learning products for teacher and student use.  

A variety of donations, either in excessive quantities (400,000 bottle caps, anyone?) or typically considered discards (remnant fabric, empty tennis ball tubes) are reimagined and reinvented through this extraordinary community collaboration. 

Program Highlights:

  • 16 Facilities participating

  • 75+ unique educational items in production targeting PreK – 6th grade

  • Distributed 114,847 items valued at more than $584,000 during the 2021-2022 school year

    • Typical school year distributions top $1 million!

Through a 2020 survey of some of the incarcerated individuals participating as CwC volunteers we learned: 

  • Over 75% are motivated to complete volunteer activities for Crayons to “give back” to their community. 

  • Nearly 60% learn a new skill or strengthen their skill set through CwC participation. 

  • Roughly 90% believe the projects are a helpful contribution to teachers and classrooms.

  • Nearly ALL CwC volunteers believe the work they are doing makes a difference.

Additional partners to CwC include “Makers Class” students at Xavier University (to design new products for ODRC and ODYS facilities to assemble), teachers, and local businesses! Capturing teacher feedback and insights for product review and refresh are key to program impact. Local businesses also often ask us to take surplus materials for creative use!

Are you interested in donating your time, talent, or treasures specifically towards making CwC possible? Have questions about how the process works? Want to learn more about CwC products?

Contact: 

Lauren Roberts
Program Manager, Product Innovation & Partnerships
lroberts[at]crayons2computers.org