The Pajama Program—a national nonprofit with 60 volunteer chapters across the country—collects and distributes books and pajamas to children in shelters, group homes and foster care.

The Austin chapter, led by co-presidents Linda Hunter and Susan Malone, is approaching ten years of service in the area this January. Over the past decade, the group has distributed more than 75,000 sets of pajamas and books to local children in need, Hunter said.

“To cozy up at night in a warm pair of pajamas is just the best,” she said. “It just breaks my heart that not every child has that.”

The chapter sorts, packages and delivers donated items to 35 other community organizations, including Austin Recovery, Lifeworks, Hope Alliance and more. The chapter’s service area covers the Greater Austin area, Bastrop, New Braunfels, Marble Falls, Georgetown, Round Rock and Pflugerville.

“One person really can make a difference in the life of a child,” Hunter said. “Even if you can just buy one pair of pajamas or one book. It may be the first a child has ever owned.”

The Pajama Program, guided by the mission that “good nights are good days,” is dedicated to promoting a bedtime routine for children who are experiencing instability. By providing a new set of pajamas and an age-appropriate book for bedtime reading, Malone said she hopes to support peaceful, restful sleep that leads to an optimistic start to the following day.

As the holidays approach, organizations, individuals and even families with small children are able to serve together through the Pajama Program, Malone said.

“Take your child with you when you go shopping,” she said. “It’s so simple—selecting pajamas and a book—but their world will be changed by giving to other children in need.”

Other service ideas include corporate offices hosting pajama drives and children asking for pajamas and books to be donated in lieu of birthday or holiday presents, Malone said.

“There are so many great ways to serve,” she said. “But the pajamas we collect stay local, and serving kids in our own community is so important to me.”