Fredericton real estate agent collects pajamas for children in need
A Fredericton real estate agent is working to help keep children in her area cozy this winter with the Pajama Project.
"It's a luxury item that not everyone can afford to go out and purchase,” said Samantha Wood, project coordinator.
There was a defining moment that led Wood to collect pajamas for children in need.
“It's not what they sleep in, a child can sleep in anything, it's those social moments like pajama days at school or sleepovers that really create this social divide,” she said.
Wood is working with local schools to get a sense of the need and to help with distribution.
"Of course there's bigger needs, there's food, and shelter and things like that, but this is just sort of a small piece to make a child feel special. So I think everyone feels that when we talk about a pair of pajamas, because it's comfortable, it's safe,” said Wood.
For every property she has sold since the summer, Wood has bought 10 pairs of pajamas.
"We have collected over 300 pairs of pajamas at the moment and donations are still coming in, so we're hoping that we're going to be able to fulfill the need that's out there.”
The project has become an office-wide effort, as Wood’s co-workers pack up PJs like Santa’s elves.
"Sam and I are both moms, and I was formerly a teacher, so I've seen first hand the need out there,” said Katie Akin, Wood’s co-worker.
“It's just so warming to be able to give that to a child.”
In addition to the pajamas, Wood has added one more item to each package to make them complete.
"I just really wanted to have a book included with the pajamas and we had to figure out a way to do it,” said Wood.
“Obviously, retail books aren't inexpensive and so we had to find a way. We were actually able to work out a deal with Scholastic books and Robert Munsch and so we'll be delivering a ‘Pyjama Day’ book by Robert Munsch.”
Wood hopes to deliver the pajama packages to schools in the capital the last week before Christmas break. They will take donations up until that time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.