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Hildreth Elementary pajama drive aims to warm hearts and nights

The Hildreth Elementary School’s annual pajama drive seeks to increase its contribution to the national Pajama Program after a slump in last year’s donations.

In 2022, the first year HES participated in the Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive, the school received 212 pajama sets to donate to local families. Last year, donations were only about a third of the inaugural year, with the final tally coming in at 75 pajama sets.

The nonprofit Pajama Program is based in New York City and partners with Scholastic Books to provide pajamas and books to families in need. According to its website, the Pajama Program’s mission is to facilitate the establishment of a bedtime routine. A good night’s sleep is crucial to children’s health, social and emotional well-being, and their ability to learn in school, the site says. HES snuggled up to the Pajama Program in 2022 and hopes to reinvigorate the drive.

With a strong commitment to involving students in volunteerism, HES principal Rebecca Katsh-Singer hopes to have overflowing donation bins for students to send to Ginny’s Helping Hand on Mechanic Street in Leominster, a local organization identified by the nonprofit Pajama Program as being a participant in the drive.

“I think it’s something that’s familiar to our kids,” said Katsh-Singer. “When you think about what families need, pajamas don’t always jump to mind, but keeping kids safe and warm at night is really essential to any family, and we want to teach kids that there are lots of ways of helping others.”

To promote the drive, students, faculty and staff are holding a school-wide pajama and stuffed animal day on Tuesday, Nov. 26. “It’s a little silly. [The kids] love to see the adults in the building in pajamas,” Katsh-Singer continued. “It is a really fun day, but we’re tying it into something really important. It’s not just a fun activity; we’re helping other people in and outside our community.”

Collection bins are located in the lobby of the elementary school and according to Katsh-Singer, community donations are not only welcome, they are encouraged. “We would love donations from the community at large. The more we can get, the better,” she said.

Once the drive ends, students will count the pajamas and prepare them to be delivered to Ginny’s, where they will be paired with a bedtime story provided by Scholastic Books, and distributed to families in need after the new year.

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