Alicia Kabir’s first year leading Cradles to Crayons – Massachusetts

In November 2024, Alicia Kabir was selected as the new Massachusetts Executive Director of Cradles to Crayons (C2C), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that gathers and distributes donated clothes, school supplies, and toiletries for children in low-income families. Now, about nine months after her appointment, Kabir told Fig City News that being a part of C2C has surpassed her expectations.

“It’s not until you’re really here – and see hundreds of people coming through every week – that you really, really appreciate how meaningful this is,” she said.

C2C was founded in Massachusetts and has expanded to Chicago and Philadelphia. Kabir is Executive Director of C2C-Massachusetts.

Kabir started her professional career in engineering — with a degree in Civil Engineering and a masters in Environmental Engineering. Over time, she moved from engineering to the nonprofit sphere.

“I’d found I was really good at finding new opportunities and growing teams and less at the technical work,” she said.

Kabir joined the board at Kesem, a nonprofit organization that supports children who have a parent with cancer. Kabir became the COO and then CEO, but she had a planned succession and eventually stepped down to let in new leadership. When she saw that there was an opening for the Executive Director position at C2C’s Boston branch, she stepped up.

“I had admired this organization for a long time, and I jumped at the opportunity to become part of the staff here,” she said.

Kabir was selected for the position and welcomed onto the C2C team with open arms. In a press release announcing Kabir’s appointment, Lynn Margherio, C2C founder and CEO at the time of Kabir’s appointment, said that she believes that Kabir is an excellent fit for the position.

“Alicia’s passionate commitment to children and proven ability to lead with vision and compassion make her the ideal person to guide Cradles to Crayons–Massachusetts into its next chapter,” she said.

As executive director, Kabir oversees fundraising and connections with other organizations, as well as promoting the efficiency and happiness of the staff. About two-thirds of her time is spent managing donor engagement, marketing, and connections with partner organizations. The remaining time she spends on internal operations.

“The rest of my week is around making sure our staff are succeeding, that they feel great about their roles, and that we’re able to be out there and doing the work that we have to,” she said.

Apart from the staff, Kabir also has to oversee volunteer engagement at The Giving Factory, the vital part of C2C where the donations are brought, sorted, and sent out. Volunteers are as young as 5 years old, and there can sometimes be 150 volunteers working at a time in The Giving Factory.

As she looks to the future, Kabir hopes to help grow and expand C2C to allow it to reach more children in low-income areas. Even in Massachusetts, one in three children is at risk of clothing insecurity, and Kabir wants to be able to reach more of them than ever before.

“This is tangible, real work that matters – particularly more than ever right now,” she said.

Andrew Petrilla is a Fig City News summer intern and a rising junior at Newton South High School.

Alicia Kabir’s first year leading Cradles to Crayons – Massachusetts

...Other News...