About Us
The story behind the cap kits program:
West Chester Education student Lisa McMahon and professor Dr. Donna Sanderson collaborated to start the Cap Kits Program when Sanderson taught McMahon in an early grades preparation course focusing on teaching preschoolers. Sanderson spoke about how new teachers, and impoverished communities, usually can't afford new teaching supplies. What they end up doing is repurposing very basic cheap types of materials, ie. bottle caps. McMahon proposed using bottom caps right here in West Chester, which launched the start of the Cap Kits Program in 2013.
As the program grew over time, the project gained support from the community, including a partnership with Wawa to receive bulk plastic cap donations. The caps have provided excellent and fun learning tools for students in grades Pre-K to 5th grade, and some cases middle school in addition to special education and ESL students. The caps are tactical, play based tools with roots in child development and learning theory.
​
Sanderson and her group of West Chester education students run in-services and workshops for teachers and parents, teaching them how to use the caps effectively with their kids (over 60 and counting have been held). The program has even expanded internationally with West Chester service trips, allowing the Cap Kits Program to bring caps to communities where they are most in need.
​
The program has continued to grow and expand, fulfilling its original mission of getting caps into the hands of children.
Cap Kits Have
Gone Global!
Through several West Chester University study abroad research trips and word of mouth, the cap kits learning method has spread internationally to 3 continents and counting! The mission of the Cap Kits Program was always to get the caps into the hands of children and into communities where they are most needed. The success of the program can be attributed to our hardworking team and the flexibility and ease of using bottles caps as learning tools.