| Isobel Goldman, Founder and President of The Crayon Project is Director of the Community Relations at the Jewish Community Federation in Rochester. Through her involvement as the coordinator of the Rochester Jewish Coalition for Literacy, a program of almost 200 volunteers serving 11 Rochester city schools, Isobel became acutely aware of the poverty in the city and its effect on young children.
A graphic designer and craft artist, Isobel, like all the artists in the 3 coloring books, she also remembers her first box of crayons!
An active participant in Interfaith work, Isobel is also responsible for legislative work in the Rochester Jewish community and Israel programming. She currently sits on the Mayor's Commission on Race and Ethnicity and the Advisory Council of the YWCA as well as on the Board of Directors of The Children’s Agenda.
Isobel has been honored twice by the Greater Rochester Community Churches with a Faith in Action award as well as Woman of the Year by Jewish Women International and CAMERA. She is the 2003 recipient of the Hannah G. Solomon Award presented by the National Coalition of Jewish Women (NCJW) and a "Mother of the Year" award recipient from the March of Dimes (2004).
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 The Crayon Project was created and launched in April of 2003 by local artist and community activist, Isobel Goldman. Alerted by a teacher that kids leave school for summer break without books, toys or even a box of crayons, Isobel took action and invited 12 local artists to help create a coloring book that would fund the purchase of a box of crayons for more than 12,000 students in grades K-3.
The Crayon Project's commitment is to color a brighter future for these children by providing them with the most basic of art tools... a box of crayons. Coloring provides an opportunity for fun, learning and discovery, and it embraces each child's personal touch.
Following each of the first two years of The Crayon Project, we were also able to provide other art experiences for children. In the summer of 2003, an art contest was held. Over 600 kids participated and 5 "winners" presented their colorings to Rochester School Superintendent, Dr. Manual Rivera.
In the summer of 2004 an Artist-In-Residence program was held at a local Settlement House and 5 artists shared their talents with teens considering careers in art, and at a second session, with younger students.
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