The Hingham Public Library has teamed up with the Boston Bruins to participate in their annual pajama drive to benefit DCF Kids and Cradles to Crayons. The PJ Drive’s goal is to collect 12,000 pairs of new pajamas for children and teens in need.
The Boston Bruins PJ Drive runs from February 1 through March 15, 2019. The library will be collecting new pairs of pajamas for babies, children and teens, and donations can be dropped off at the main desk or in the children’s department.
Bruins forward P.J. Axelsson and his wife, Siw, started the PJ drive during the Boston Bruins 2007-2008 season as a way to give to give back to their community. The couple collected 1,600 pairs of pajamas for Cradles to Crayons which connects with social service agencies to identify specific children in need.
In 2017, the drive expanded to benefit DCF’s Wonderfund. DCF estimates that at any given time the agency is working with 45,000 babies, children and teens. DCF’s participation helps ensure that PJs stay in the area in which they were collected, benefitting local kids and teens.
Amy Riley, a social service partner from MassSTART that benefits from the PJ Drive, spoke about the drive’s impact.
“Mario, his mom and two brothers are living in an apartment that is not heated properly. The bedrooms are very cold at night, and as a result the children are often sick. Mario and his brothers were also not sleeping well and would end up sleeping together in order to stay warm. Cradles to Crayons was able to provide the family with pajamas, warm clothing, bedding and blankets. This allowed Mom to save money and focus on finding a new, better heated apartment.”
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) works with the Boston Bruins to coordinate library participation in the drive. Libraries from around the state use the Massachusetts Library System’s delivery service, typically used to send books and other library materials, to send their PJs to area collection locations which increases libraries’ ability to participate in the drive.