Local Organizations Collect PJs For Kids In Japan

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Little things can sometimes bring great comfort to people caught up in terrible situations. Two local organizations are joining forces – and seeking the public’s help – in bringing some solace to children left homeless by the disasters in Japan by providing them with pajamas. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.

Workers from the Pajama Program were busy Thursday morning, packing up boxes of new pajamas destined for children in Japan. Many lost everything in to the earthquake and tsunami there.

"The fact that they may be sleeping on the floor, in a school or a building that's half knocked down, with nothing but maybe somebody's arms around them,” said Pajama Program founder and chief executive Genevieve Piturro of what inspired her to start the collection.

The Pajama Program has been providing sleepwear and books to kids in need in the United States for 10 years, but when disaster struck in Japan, they teamed up with another non-profit, called Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), to help get warm pajamas to kids overseas.

"Our supporters and donors started to write to us and said, can we do a special donation for Japan? So, PJs for Japan have been coming in all week and are still coming in,” Piturro said.

Around 1,200 pairs of pajamas have been collected so far, donated by the organization's supporters, retailers and manufacturers.

The partnership was perfect for K.I.D.S, which was already collecting a variety of items to send to Japan.

"We're talking about water, talking about underwear, talking about socks, shoes, clothes, all the things that might help families in a distressed situation,” said K.I.D.S. president Janice Weinman.

Only new items are sent to Japan.

"So that they know that somebody cares enough to give them something new rather than something that is used, something that may not fit them or is just not of the quality that it should be,” she said.

For more information about the drive or how to help, head to PajamaProgram.org or KidsDonations.org.