Use our Spectrum News app for the best experience and stay connected with your community. Learn more

New York-Nothing is more comfortable than a soft nightgown, but this is just a comfort that the children in the shelter usually have to lack.

"The challenges faced by children in our community, these situations beyond their control, will only be exacerbated by the pandemic," said Jyothi Nair, development and community engagement assistant for the Pajama Program, a new pajama organization with a 20-year history As well as providing books for children in homeless shelters and transitional housing.

Despite the challenges, Nair said that the efforts of the Pajama Project have not slowed down.

"We now feel more important than ever that we continue to distribute pajamas and books," Nair said.

The project was founded by Marketing Director Genevieve Piturro, who noticed that they were sleeping in clothes while reading to the children in the shelter. A child asked her: "What is pajamas?"

"She bought her pajamas herself and will distribute them to the shelter next time she comes," Nair said.

Twenty years later, more than 7.1 million pajamas, books, and sleep health education materials and resources have been distributed.

The Murray Mountain Reading Center of the organization has been closed since March 2020. Volunteers used to come here and read to the children themselves. Instead, volunteers recorded bedtime stories and implemented a virtual storytelling program.

"We received more than 1,000 recordings, which are really great," said Joanna Lee, marketing communications assistant for the Pajama Project.

Last month, virtual programming was added to connect the children in the classroom.

"Our senior project managers provide services to the children in our community. They go directly to the classroom, they read stories and talk about what we call a ready-made model, which is a five-step bedtime procedure," Nair said.

Through all of this, the Pajama Project is continuing its "One Million Good Night" campaign that started at the end of 2020, with the goal of benefiting 1 million children across the United States.

If you need help, go here.