OUR MISSION

Woodworkers for Children Charity is dedicated to aiding needy children in the Washington metropolitan area. It runs two programs to achieve its goal.

The first program is to craft wooden toys which are donated to organization helping at-risk children.

The second program, called “Reading is Toyrific®”, is a literacy program run for first graders at Title I elementary schools. The vast majority of the students in these schools are minority, low-income, special ed., and English Students of Other Languages.

Why These Programs?

Toys are important to the development of children because children develop through play. Play stimulates their motor skills, imagination and social skills. Often, low income families do not have the funds for developmental appropriate toys. Since being founded, WCC has donated over sixteen thousand toys to over 100 organization serving at-risk children in the Washington metropolitan area.

In an article by Richard Cohen in The Washington Post, he states “Low-income minority children are already four months behind the national average in reading and math scores by the time they arrive in kindergarten. . . . There are many reason for this – too much television time, too few books in the home, the father’s take a hike, the mother doesn’t read to her kids”
"The Reading is Toyrific(R)" program helps these children catch up by making reading fun, encouraging them to read, and by putting books in their homes. WCC is currently running this program for nineteen first grade classes.



Feel Free to Contact Us

WCC would like to contact others throughout the country who are interested in either of these two programs. We are willing to share our toy plans and experiences or provide more information about the "Reading is Toyrific(R)" program. Contact Frank Ierardi at the email address shown on the main page.

BACKGROUND INFO

• WCC was incorporated in September 1997 as a charitable corporation. It is an all volunteer organization with no paid employees. It has been recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organization.
  
  
• WCC provides all materials, plans, and instructions free of charge, to volunteers who are willing to use their skills to craft the wooden toys. Volunteers work in their own shops.
  
  
• WCC was selected by the Minwax Corporation as its 2001 Grand Prize Winner in the national competition for its "Community Craftsman Award".
  
  
• WCC is funded through contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. We wish to thank the National Home Library Foundation, the FirstBook Foundation, the Verizon Foundation, the IBM Corp., the Philip L. Graham Fund, the Montgomery Alliance, the UCG Charitable Foundation, the Minwax Corp., the George and Louise Thornton Charitable Foundation, the Freddie Mac Foundation, and The George Preston Marshall Foundation and for their support as well as the many individual contributors and volunteers.

LINKS TO RELATED SITES