Sigma Psi Zeta collected 66 sets of pajamas and 250 books for children in foster care at the chapter’s annual Pajama and Book Drive held at Carmody Hills Baptist Church in Capitol Heights, Maryland on Dec. 10, 2016.

The drive, which is held in conjunction with the Pajama Program, supports community children who may find themselves without the comforts of home in the foster care system and aims to bring them solace in the form of pajamas and books.

This year’s drive featured a free pajama party for children. Children got into the spirit of the event by partying in their PJs. While the children enjoyed snacks, dancing and games they also learned about the value of giving back to others.

The Pajama Program started in 2001 when Genevieve Piturro, Pajama Program’s founder, discovered that the children she read to at a local shelter did not have a caring adult to tuck them into bed each night, let alone a pair of warm, comforting pajamas to change into or a storybook to enjoy before the night descended. Instead, the children she saw there were often relegated to sleeping on a cot or futon, two or three together, still wearing their clothes of the day.

With bags full with new pajamas and storybooks, Genevieve returned to the shelter to ensure that all of the children there would enjoy a good night. And realizing that this ritual was missing from the lives of many children all across the country, she started Pajama Program to bring love and hope to them all in the form of a loving bedtime.

Sigma Psi Zeta is proud to work with the Pajama Program in support of the Prince George’s County community.