The Pajama Program provides warm new pajamas and books to children in need living in group homes and shelters, many waiting and hoping to be adopted.

Description:
By providing pajamas and books to children in need, we help create a warm and nurturing bedtime environment for vulnerable children living under difficult circumstances. Pajama Program chapters are scattered all over the United States and are growing all the time. Each chapter focuses on identifying local organizations in need of the donations. At this time we are in need of volunteers interested in hosting pajama parties or local drives to collect pajamas and books for the winter months. We donated over 300 pairs of pajamas and 300 books to children in need in Idaho just in the past two months after the very first Treasure Valley Pajama Drive in July. Teen and adult sizes are also in demand as many of our receiving organizations have older children living in them. Some of our organizations are: Hope House, Hope's Door, Syringa House, Idaho Youth Ranch--Anchor House, Idaho Youth Ranch--Ranch Campus, Valley House, Hays House, Boise Rescue Mission, Children's Village, The Bridge, Wednesday's Child, Women and Children's Alliance, and Haven House. The list is growing and there are so many children in need of warm pajamas for the cold months.

History:
At the start of the program Genevieve Piturro (founder) visited a center for children with no fathers, and whose mothers were in prison. She brought twelve pairs of pajamas with her that were donated. As the children came into the room, they viewed the pajamas on the table. They made their selections and one little girl approached Mrs. Piturro. "Where do I wear these?" she asked. "To bed at night," she answered. The little girl looked puzzled. The little girl told Genevieve that she normally wears her pants to bed. Genevieve Piturro looked at the far too small selection of pajamas and her heart sank. There are now Pajama Program chapters throughout the United States delivering warm sleepwear and books to all children in need.

Contact people:

Tanya Ambler, President, (208) 249-8436, (email) Genevieve Piturro, Executive Director, (212) 716-9757, (email)

Office fax number: (208) 461-9047

Address:

2817 Sugar Cane Drive Nampa, ID 83687 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.pajamaprogram.org