This month, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital (UMMCH) received a special delivery– 72,000 pounds, or 354,816 individual containers, of Crayola dough.

While this may seem like a massive quantity– and it is– in order to prevent the spread of infection, each container can only be used once. Since donations tend to be made around the holiday season, it is often difficult to keep toys in stock year-round.

“I don’t think we’re going to have an issue restocking our playdough [supply] for a long time,” says Nick Engbloom, Director of Development at the University of Minnesota Foundation in an interview with Kare 11.

The 36 tons of playdough, donated by ToySmith, traveled all the way from Sumner, WA to a storage warehouse in Minneapolis, MN. The storage facility was donated by Woodchuck USA, a local Minnesota company. The logistics company involved, GlobalTranz, coordinated and covered the cost of the two truckloads of playdough across state lines, totaling more than $6,600 in donated costs. 

“We were thrilled to be a part of this special delivery,” said Landon Weninger, Director of Managed Transportation at GlobalTranz. “We’re actively involved with UMMCH and the great work they do, so we were happy to help out and donate our services.”

It was an effort more than worth it, for everyone involved. And all it took to remind them, was that first smile, achieved from the ‘pop’ of a playdough container top.