Kids Helping Kids

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Kids Helping Kids

By Nadia on December 9th, 2011

This morning, The Scholastic Store in Soho was packed with kids – even more than usual! But today, they didn’t come just for the books…they were on a special mission: to donate pajamas to less fortunate kids. Schools across the country have been collecting pajamas for The Pajama Program, an organization that donates pajamas and bedtime books to kids in need, many of whom are in shelters or waiting to be adopted. ClassroomsCare (part of Scholastic Book Clubs) teamed up with The Pajama Program to donate a bedtime book for each pajama collected to help make nights cozier and provide a complete bedtime experience.

We invited local schools to come to the store to drop off their collection, enjoy story time, and meet Pajama Program founder Genevieve Piturro. Elementary school students from P.S 3, P.S. 115, P.S. 119, P.S. 217, P.S. 225, Peninsula Preparatory Academy, and Academy of St. Joseph came by…with nearly 1,000 pairs of Pajamas!

P.S. 119 with Pajama Program founder Genevieve Piturro around 1 of the 8 boxes of pajamas they brought

I had the opportunity to speak with some of the teachers and hear their amazing stories. At P.S. 119 in Brooklyn, the teachers integrated the program into the classroom by having students write persuasive letters to members of the community asking for donations. The students ran a week-long “nacho café” during lunch, and raised enough money to buy over 400 pajamas to donate!

The spirit of giving was in the air…especially when first graders from P.S. 3 in Staten Island arrived dressed in Santa Hats and reindeer ears! They hung signs in their school bus and turned it into a sleigh to make their delivery of 300 pajamas. The class also made cards for the kids who would be receiving the pajamas.

Students from P.S. 3 talk to Pajama Program founder Genevieve Piturro

We’re hoping to beat last year’s donation of over 95,100 pairs of pajamas. If seven schools in New York can collect over 1,000 pairs, just imagine what’s going on nationwide!

How is your community giving back this holiday season?