Final Drop-off

The last of the pajamas were dropped off yesterday. I brought about 9, 30 gallon bags to St Vincent's in Dayton. This is a homeless shelter, for families, single women, and women with children. Since the economy tanked, they have seen their numbers increase by 60%. It is a full service shelter with 3 meals a day-though rules are plentiful to make this operation work.

When clients come in, whatever things they bring are put in plastic "totes" and kept in one central room. They can check out their belongings at any time, however, sleeping quarters are completely empty with the exception of beds. They don't want things "walking away" and it is easier to monitor whose is what with this system. Inside the sleeping area, are tons and tons of twin beds-which are filled to capacity every night. (Think 100 or so, clustered in little groups of 2-3 for families or mothers with children.) The only personal items I saw were a few teddy bears on some of the beds for children.

Impressive, heart-breaking and humbling all at once- this shelter leaves no doubt how real the need is, and yet also, how generous individuals are to support a shelter of this magnitude. Thank you again to everyone who helped support "Jammies for Junior." Have a blessed and Merry Christmas.

The End (I mean it this time)

So I know I am losing effectiveness by saying "The End" 19 times, but this time I really mean it. NEW TOTAL: 856 PAJAMAS.

To prove I am serious, we delivered the first load today. The Hope House in Middletown received 150 pajamas, a long with 10-15 blankets, and another huge bag of miscellaneous clothes that have come in. Next week, we will deliver all the rest so they are there for Christmas.

NEW TOTAL: 612 PAJAMAS

So even though I am all done collecting, a few pajamas are still making their way in-just in time before I begin delivering over the next few days. As of now, the new total is 612 pajamas. That is not even counting the bags and boxes I have of "Other" things such as coats, blankets, shoes, t-shirts, jeans, etc. I am going to have so much free space at my house I don't know what to do.

Also, my husband deserves a medal of honor since he patiently humors me on these endeavors and on this one in particular, helps to fold and wrap hundreds and hundreds of pajamas....

Pajama Drive-Complete!

So I am all done "officially" collecting pajamas. (I have some more coming tonight and Monday)-but we are so far beyond the goal it is insane. As of this moment, I have 537 pajamas in my living room-all of which are being delivered in the next 2 weeks, to multiple organizations. Thanks so much to everybody who helped! There will be a lot of happy kids this year.

430 PJs and Counting!!!

So this is truly incredible. In 5 weeks, I have 430 pajamas sitting in my living room. Since it is way past the 250 goal, I contacted 2 additional shelters to give pajamas to. They are confirming the number of children they have-and based on need, we will now have at least 4, maybe 5 organizations that will be receiving pajamas!

Since so many have come in, so quickly, I have decided to end the drive on December 18th. That way, all the children will be able to have pajamas by Christmas.

Some Jammie facts:

*Of the 430 I have, 80% are brand new
*39 pairs are adult sizes
*Disney and Carters are definitely the most popular brands
*I have over 20 pairs of SpongeBob
*One pair may have a bone hidden in it (courtesy of my dog Buddy). We could not figure out how all the stacks kept being messed up, until we saw Buddy snooping around. He seemed really upset when we straightened them back up, and has a tendency to hide his bones. The bone is still missing.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Have I mentioned how much I love the press??? Today the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a story about the pajama drive. Click here to see what they had to say.

Thanksgiving Article!

On this Thanksgiving, there is so much to be thankful for. What I have seen through this pajama drive, is that people are more aware then ever, what blessings they have, especially in this difficult economy. I give thanks to all of you who have supported this endeavor! We will be way over the 250 mark-come mid-December.

The drive did make it into the Dayton Daily Newspaper on Thanksgiving. Click here to see.

Have a great holiday!

I have a lot of pajamas in my living room!

So I have been quiet for a few days, but wanted everyone to know there has been a ton going on. I have had A LOT of pajamas come in. Some groups, like Wright State, (with the help of my good friend Jenny), organized their own drop-off site for a couple of weeks. The advantage of reaching out to so many different groups of people, is receiving a tremendous variety of pajamas!

Since the shelters needs vary greatly-we need pajamas from infant all the way to adult. Some people are still asking what I need the most of, and at this point (probably really close to 250 pajamas, and most likely going to be quite a bit over!)I need JUNIORS for GIRLS or BOYS. That is probably what I have the least of....

Here's a glimpse of what some of the pajamas look like...this is maybe half....each "stack" has 5 pairs piled high....and yes, I am a dork and have wrapped them individually with bows.

Shout-outs

So not that I normally do shout-outs, since this is a community effort, and would not be possible without tons and tons of people being generous and giving...that said, I am making an exception just this once for Pam who called me yesterday.

Here's the scoop. I was folding pajamas which is pretty much what consumes every free moment-that and rearranging once Anna messes them up for the 9 millionth time-and the phone rings. Like all good people, I don't answer, and stand by the machine, listening for who it is. When Pam (whom I do not know-even though now she is a bff) mentioned the pajama drive, I conveniently decided I was home, and decided to answer.

Pam said she had some pajamas, and had received some from some neighbors, and was asking how she could get them to me. These calls are few and far between in the land of fundraising, and so we agreed to meet yesterday afternoon. When I pulled up, I was thrilled to see I had my lady-as her trunk had all sorts of pajamas, not to mention some coats, shoes, blankets and all sorts of things. (NOTE: to everyone else please do not send me anything other then pajamas). That said-I was there, and so were all these amazing things-so I took everything. I sent a note to the three organizations yesterday and whatever "extras" (Other then the pjs) came in, will be split among who can use them.

Thanks so much Pam-and thanks also to Rick-who did such an amazing write-up-which always helps the cause.

In the Press

I thought this was the nicest article! It was published today about Jammies for Junior. Click here to see it!

Also, I have had so many nice e-mails from people wanting to help! Lots of people are suggesting ideas-from neighborhoods donating, to different schools and organizations!

Right now, I have a little over 80 pajamas. I need to get them all folded and do a final count. Surprisingly, of the 80, I think less then 5 pairs are gently used-the rest are all brand new!!!

YWCA

I was able to visit the YWCA-and hopefully get some press for the cause!! It really is an amazing program they have. I saw where women and children stay in the domestic violence area, as well as "Hope's Closet" which is where new clients can come to "shop" with the points that they earn.

Of course I immediately wanted to see the children's pajamas that were available, and they proceeded to show me two tiny little drawers with a couple of pairs. Not that I was happy they didn't have many-but it is validation for the cause and proof that the need is great.

What a Deal!!!!

So one of the great things about doing one of these drives is you have 9 million people letting you know about fantastic deals. I think Jenny and Sharon @ Wright State will be the big winners this time. They told me about a ONE DAY ONLY deal online. Kids pajamas for $5-normally $16.50.

That is craziness-and I ordered a ton. Pretty much every dollar that has come in so far went to pooh, mickey mouse, snow white, power rangers, and 9 million other characters that I don't even knnow the name of. They are so cute-I cannot even stand it. I can't imagine how exciting that would be for a little child-brand new pjs!!!

My table is quickly filling up with pajamas, and by far the bulk have been brand new-though I am also accepting gently used. I'll take pictures later this week.

Sizes

So I am starting to organize which pajamas I have so far....they are ADORABLE by the way...everything from dogs, to polar bears, to sponge bob and hearts. Super cute.

If you are wanting to buy pajamas-sizes I definitely need are girls- 4T all the way up to size 14. For boys-I definitely need size 6-all they way up to size 14.

Although this isn't focused on adults, we do have some older children in adult sizes at some of the shelters. These could be women's or men's pajamas (think nightshirts, pajama pants from Old Navy, Target, etc.)

Also, some people have commented about the goal of 250 versus 25,000 when I collected diapers! Well, the easy response is that diapers cost about .15 cents each, and diapers-absolutely best case, are anywhere between $6-$12.....When we hit the 250 mark it will cover all the children at all 3 shelters, and provide many leftover for the rest of the year.....

How Much to Pay for Jammies???

So I have been asked this question a couple of times now, and thought I would write about it. Inquiring minds want to know-should I donate $$$ or go and buy pajamas? To me, it really doesn't matter-whatever you prefer. That said, if you have no preference, I can buy pajamas for about $6 each at the outlets with coupons, etc (The power of buying in bulk). So far I have received donations online, checks in the mail, and have some pjs on their way. Next week I will have to start tracking how many we have....

Also-if you want to help, consider reaching out to friends or groups you may be a part of....Maureen is reaching out to 2 different groups, one of which is now having their Christmas get-together give something back-buy donating pjs, and Jenny has reached out to the folks at her office to let them know pjs can be brought to her!!! Thanks, ladies!!!

Amazing

So as I mentioned yesterday, I have been talking to different organizations about where the pajamas will be donated. I had a nice long chat with Angie, from the YWCA and I knew I had chosen correctly.

The WIN (Women in Need) part of the YWCA is an emergency crisis shelter for women and children. This means their clients call them in life threatening situations, often in the middle of the night and from a pay phone. Normally, these women come with their children and just their clothes on their backs. Angie said, "You have no idea what a big deal pajamas are to these children who come with nothing."

Currently the program has children ranging from 1 MONTH OLD to 10 years old-though the ages change frequently. They house between 250-300 children a year, on a temporary basis until they can find a better solution.

I cannot even fathom running in the middle of the night to save my own life and the life of my child, much less have nowhere to go and nothing to take. This program is the only emergency crisis shelter for women in all of Dayton.

Where are all the Jammies Going?

This week, I am focused on determining where the pajamas are being given. I have contacted 3 organizations-which I would like to split the donations between. I chose 3 for a couple of reasons-one being that it spans over a greater area-Dayton, Cincinnati and Middletown. Secondly, I do not know what sizes and amounts will be received-this way I can match up donations with need, and make a greater impact.

The 3 organizations: YWCA, One Way Farm and Hope House, all house children who are homeless or have been abused. Each is a 501c3.

Want to learn more? You can read about each of these organizations by following the links on the right.

Jammies for Junior

New Project: thinking about a new fundraiser to donate PJs for children. For this one, I have an idea of what I am doing-thanks to the Diaper Drive earlier this year.