My Nonprofit Reviews

Imagine how frightening it would be to become homeless, maybe living in a car, or in the woods, or in a shelter where everyone has to vacate during the day even if they are unwell. Now imagine you are a child, watching your parent, feeling their fear that children’s services may remove you from their care because there is no roof over your head. You are still going to school but your clothes are what you can carry and are ill fitting. Remember, school is another fishbowl where everyone can see what you don’t have, and it’s an opportunity for peers to ostracize you. Kids deserve to have comfortable shoes, clothes that fit and clothes that they don’t have to sleep in. I have seen SHIP in action. These are volunteers with heart and a mission. They use their resources wisely. Please support their efforts.

I have been enthusiastically volunteering for the Pajama Program in Maryland and D.C. since 2009. We provide new pajamas and new books for children living in impoverished circumstances. Imagine, having a social worker drop you off at a shelter or hospital in the middle of the night. Some of these children arrive wearing only underwear and wrapped in a blanket. Others have had to flee with their mothers and siblings to a battered women's shelter. Young runaways show up on winter nights with only the clothes on their back. Families huddle sleeping in one room because that is the only room with heat. As I have visited organizations across the state, I have met so many caretakers with stories like these. They do so much with so few resources; their own hearts are lightened by being able to give the children what may be their first pair of new pajamas they ever remember wearing. This work is made possible only by the generosity of donors. Schoolchildren, scout troops, church groups, office workers, Mom's clubs, corporate sponsorships, and many other organizations bless us with new pajamas and books....in turn, we get them to where they are needed. I never forget that every pair of pajamas represents a child, and a book can be a source of solace and inspiration on a lonely night.

More Feedback