They’re finally available in stores!
The “More Than Peach” project has launched a new crayon bundle at Target.
11-year-old Bellen Woodard is the founder of the “More Than Peach” initiative, an endeavor she launched after noticing the need for more color diversity in her box of crayons. She was in her elementary school class when she noticed that her friends would always ask for the “skin-color” crayon in reference to the color peach. As a brown-skinned girl, it made Bellen feel some type of way, almost like she wasn’t included. The then fourth grader went home to share her newfound grievance with her mother.
“I think I just want to ask them what color they want because it could be any number of beautiful colors,” she told her mom.
That’s when she got the idea for the initiative, creating supply kits for classrooms in her native home of Virginia that included a variety of drawing materials and a special box of Multicultural crayons or colored pencils. The goal was to spread awareness among kids her age about the variety of skin tone colors available and she succeeded, receiving fundraising donations from everywhere and truly growing the project’s impact.
Bellen’s movement grew and at just 10 years old, she was named a TIME magazine “Kid of the Year.” The self-proclaimed crayon activist has doubled down on her mission, donating more than $40,000 worth of art bundles via her “More Than Peach” project. She has also been honored by a number of platforms and had her “Bellen’s Palette Packet” included in the permanent collection at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. Now 11 years old, the popular kidpreneur has landed a deal with Target.
Bellen took to social media to share the news, announcing that her “More Than Peach CREATIVITY BUNDLE” was now available on shelves at the retail giant. Joining the bundle is also Bellen’s first children’s book entitled, “More than Peach, Changing the World…One Crayon At a Time.” The journey to in-store offerings has been a long time coming and the pre-teen is more than excited to get her crayon bundles into the hands of even more people across the country.
Despite her strides, the mission has remained virtually the same, inclusivity across the board, even in crayon colors.
“The goal? No kid ‘disincluded’ simply for being the human they’re intended to be. We’re whole and growing and gonna live our best lives. Right?! Right!,” she wrote.
Congratulations Bellen! We are so proud and headed to our nearest Target right now!
Photo Courtesy of Target/MoreThanPeachProject/Instagram