Customer Service Coordinator / Driver - CHI

ABOUT CRADLES TO CRAYONS:   

Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.  

Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally, through Giving Factory Direct—a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021.  

Cradles to Crayons has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator for 13 consecutive years. Only 2% of charities nationwide have received this distinction. C2C has a budget of $12.9M for FY22. 

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Customer Service Coordinator / Driver is a member of the Operations team and is responsible for the collection of donated children’s items and the delivery and distribution of partner orders. A large emphasis of this position is safe driving, and the timely pick-up and delivery of donated children’s items.  The Customer Service Coordinator/Driver will spend the majority of their time in the community, organizing donations at various drop-off locations in the Greater Chicagoland area, where there is regular interaction with volunteers, partners, and donors. This position is the face of Cradles to Crayons in Chicago and the surrounding communities.  The Customer Service Coordinator/Driver is also responsible for unloading the donations and securing the items in the correct space in the warehouse for storage. This position has additional responsibilities in the warehouse to help facilitate the movement of inventory through the warehouse and to maintain the facility.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Model and lead a positive “One Cradles” culture, underpinned by Cradles’ Cultural Values and related behaviors.
• Ensure the safe pick-up and delivery of donations from locations in the Chicago region.
• Efficiently organize donations from drop-off location into Cradles to Crayons vehicles.
• Accurately track the amount and type of donations being loaded onto the truck and being placed within the warehouse.
• Monitor C2C vehicles to ensure they are properly maintained and operational and report any issues to the Warehouse and Inventory Manager.
• Maintain a positive and professional relationship with those who are donating items as well as with partner organizations when delivering or distributing product.
• Ensure donations in the warehouse are stored properly and safely and that aisle ways are unobstructed and free of debris.
• Manage the collection bin(s) and organize and track donations that are received.
• Work with the operations team to optimize space in the warehouse.
• Perform custodial related activities in warehouse and surrounding grounds.
• Assist with warehouse proje