Pajamas provide brighter dreams
Twenty-five children, in new pajamas, had smiles on their faces as they hugged the stuffed toys in their beds — cots in homeless shelters — in Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties.
Their small backpacks and totes rested at their sides. For many it was the first time they’d had something to call their own.
Life as a homeless child doesn’t have much to offer in the way of possessions.
This story of children experiencing a sense of abundance is repeated month after month because of “The Pajama Connection.” 
A little more than a year ago, Susan Smith retired from the Charles County Health Department as a community health nurse.
Part of her job included locating children in motel rooms, trailers and homeless shelters who needed medical care.
She saw how families moved about, carrying their few belongings in garbage bags, and how children
frequently had to leave behind toys and other personal belongings because they had no way to carry them.
“I wanted to give these children something to call their own,” she said. “What better time to connect with the children than when they have to sleep in an unfamiliar place.”
She took her idea, to fill backpacks or tote bags with things a child needs including a pair of pajamas, to her church, Hollywood UMC in the Washington East District.
At first, reluctant to take on such a project, fearing it would deplete the treasury, church members gave her a couple months to make it work.
“When I got my first check for $1,000, they decided it was a go,” she said.
The church adopted the program as one of its missions last summer and five volunteers, who fill the backpacks each month, are all from the church.
“Our church is very, very pleased that she is able to go through the church, and we can be blessed by all her work,” said Jean Rothwell, who heads the Outreach Mission and is a regular volunteer.
When items for the back packs (toys, books, crayons, health items, such as toothbrushes, socks, activity books – and of course, pajamas) began filling up space at the church, Smith moved the project to her home, where she has a spare room set up as a mini-warehouse.
She has racks for pajamas, and separate bins for books, toothbrushes and socks. A pile of stuffed animals waits to be packed. The work table is nearby.
Case workers at the shelters and homes give Smith the names and ages of the child in need. The volunteer packers personalize each bag with the recipient’s name and stuff the totes with age appropriate items and the right-sized pajamas.
Inside they place a card with the church’s picture and a Bible verse that lets the recipients know “our church is here to help you through this difficult time,” Smith said.
Social workers share stories of the children’s reactions when they receive the bags.
“Things we take for granted, they get so excited about,” Smith said. For instance, a 12-year-old girl was particularly excited about having her own comb and brush – she’d never had any of her own before.
There’s a special joy, Smith says, in hearing a child comment, “You mean it’s mine, I can keep it?”
A teenage boy was so overwhelmed, he cried because he needed the sleep pants, T-shirts and socks. He asked the social worker, “How did they know I needed every one of these items?”
Bags for infants include appropriate items such as diapers. Mothers sometimes think they have to return the diaper bags and can’t believe a stranger would give their baby something brand new. All items put in the bags are new, with the exception of some good used books.
The Pajama Connection now serves children from newborns to 18 years in five homeless shelters, two group homes for the Alternative for Youth Program, a domestic violence center, and Charles County Foster Care. It’s even gone international by sending items to Afghanistan refugees through Smith’s neighbor. At the end of the first year, 280 homeless children in the three counties had received backpacks.
Smith spends much of her time these days speaking to community groups and churches about the project and softly soliciting contributions to sustain and expand the effort. She hands out brochures explaining the basics at every opportunity.
Local Rotary and Optimist clubs are contributors, as are Catholic and Lutheran churches and Girl Scouts.
The United Methodist Women in several churches have responded to the need, and youth groups love shopping to fill the bags. A Lutheran youth group raised $500 for the project, then its members did the shopping. UMWs sometimes hold “baby showers,” to collect items. In its first year 21 community groups or businesses stepped forward with donations.
One little boy thought he had to pick from the bag the one item he liked best and return the rest, Smith related. When he was told the whole bag was a gift from the church, his to keep, “he danced around the room, pulling items from the bag.”
“Does the church really love me this much?” he asked.
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