What This Dad Is Doing For Young Hospital Patients Will Make Your Heart Melt

Isn't this awesome?

In 2011, Bryan Ware was celebrating his birthday at a restaurant in California. The waiter brought a handful of crayons for his two young sons. Suddenly, a curious question flashed through Bryan’s mind. Where will these crayons go after they’re done with them? Never in his wildest dreams did he expect the answer to change his life — and the lives of brave kids fighting for their lives.

Bryan started The Crayon Initiative, which collects old crayons that would otherwise be thrown away by schools and restaurants — then turns them into new, larger, and more usable crayons for children’s hospitals and kids with special needs. Bryan, with the help of his team of dedicated volunteers, came up with a special process that involves melting old crayons down, molding them into larger shapes, and creating nearly 100 new crayons each and every time. The Initiative delivers the finished crayons to children’s hospitals across California, where they can be enjoyed by kids who find comfort and fun through coloring when they need it most.

Once the internet picked up on Bryan’s creative, crafty, and kindhearted idea, The Crayon Initiative went viral. These days, Bryan is busier than ever and he couldn’t be more excited. “I had no idea how social media would so deeply, positively impact our mission,” he says. “It is so far beyond what I could have imagined or planned for, I am sincerely blown away.”

You can see the entire process on Little Things. Isn't this dad just amazing? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about what he's doing.