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Conyngham boy's crayon hearts benefit autism awareness

Standard-Speaker - 1/31/2023

Jan. 30—CONYNGHAM — Christian Ochs doesn't attend classes in the Hazleton Area School District, but the school community knows about him and his crayon heart fundraiser to support families affected by autism.

The 9-year-old, along with his mom, Jennifer, made crayon hearts for his younger brother's first-grade class for Valentine's Day.

With only eight children in Brayden's class, they knew they'd have extra and decided to sell them for $1 each to benefit SAFE, Inc., a local non-profit supporting families affected by autism.

Christian, who calls the group the "SAFE people," sat at the family's dining room table playing with some Matchbox cars and a few dozen crayon hearts heaped in front of him Monday morning.

SAFE has helped Christian, who is autistic, with swimming lessons, camp and more, they said.

Jennifer kicked off Christian's Crayon Heart sale on social media, and it quickly went viral in the area, she said.

"It blew up after I posted it on Facebook," she said, and then, a friend shared the post with HASD Superintendent Brian Uplinger, who shared it with teachers throughout the sprawling district.

"So then, I started getting email after email from the teachers wanting some for their classes," Jennifer said.

Teachers were ordering 25 at a time for each of their students, and then, two daycares placed orders for a combined 150 crayon hearts, she said.

Jennifer never expected she and Christian would be making so many crayon hearts. She thought at one point her oven would give out.

"I was a little overwhelmed at first," she said.

The orders kept coming.

Jennifer ordered crayons in bulk from Amazon for about $35, and wrote to the Easton-based crayon company, Crayola, which responded with a large box of 120 crayons to help Christian's mission.

Others also responded. Teachers, staff and students at Maple Manor Elementary/Middle School sent a huge box of crayons to the family, Jennifer said.

Together, they made about 600 crayon hearts, but raised more than $800 for autism awareness and support, she said, as many people gave more than $1 per heart donation.

People can order crayon hearts until Friday, Jennifer said, and she already started making deliveries in the Hazleton area. Those interested can order by emailing her at ochs.jenniferlynn@yahoo.com.

She and Christian are already gearing up for Creativity at the Courthouse, an inclusive art show March 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Luzerne County Courthouse for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

They plan on making about 200 hearts to sell at the show, and Jennifer thinks she and Christian have the crayon heart making down to a science now that they're no longer setting off the smoke detectors, she said. Jennifer laughed that the house smelled like a crayon factory when they were at full production.

She posted photographs and videos of a smiling Christian standing at the kitchen stove making the crayon hearts.

The hands-on project helps Christian learn life skills he'll need to be self-sufficient, Jennifer said.

It's also rewarding, as they're touching so many other lives, she said.

"We're excited that so many kids are going to be coloring with Christian's crayons," the proud mom said. "My friends sent me videos with their kids holding the crayons ... it's such a good feeling."

Jennifer is also grateful to everyone who has supported the sale, including Uplinger, to whom she sent a thank you note, and those who support Christian, such as his teachers and the people at SAFE.

"His confidence really depends on the people around him," she said. "We tell him all the time he's a superstar ... he can do anything he wants to do."

Contact the writer: kmonitz@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3589

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