Community Helps Daycroft Montessori School of Ann Arbor Donate Pajamas and Books to Area's Needy Kids

A good book read in warm comfort. What better could a young person want?

Nearly 200 pairs of new pajamas – along with a matching number of new books – have been donated to the area’s needy children, thanks to the efforts of students, parents, staff, and friends of Daycroft Montessori School (www.daycroft.org) of Ann Arbor.

The Daycroft community invited all in the greater Ann Arbor area to join with them and Scholastic, Inc. (www.scholastic.com) – the publisher of books, magazines, and educational materials for young people – in supporting the Pajama Program (www.pajamaprogram.org).

The Pajama Program is a nonprofit organization that provides new pajamas and books to local children in need. Among the donations’ recipients are kids living in shelters, group homes, foster care, and orphanages.

For every pair of new pajamas donated through Daycroft, Scholastic matched that with their own donation of a new book to the Pajama Program.

A “Giving Tree” Drive

The donation drive was the focus of the “Giving Tree,” a weeklong event sponsored each year by the Daycroft Parent Guild. The program’s aim: to reinforce Daycroft’s value of kindness and teach students the importance of helping those in need. An added purpose was to help encourage and expand the community’s charitable giving around the holidays.

Community members were invited to purchase new pajamas and drop them off in the lobby of either Daycroft location: the Preprimary Campus (preschool and kindergarten) on Oakbrook Dr., near Briarwood Mall; or the Elementary Campus (kindergarten through 6th grade) on N. Zeeb Rd., about a quarter-mile north of Jackson Rd.

Drop-off of pajamas at Daycroft began on Monday, December 3 and extended through Tuesday, December 11.

Pajamas needed to be brand new and manufactured as pajamas, so as to ensure flame-retardancy and safety. All sizes of pajamas were collected, from newborn through adult.

The matched donations numbered 178 pairs of pajamas and 178 new books, to be exact.

More about the Pajama Program can be found at www.pajamaprogram.org. Information about the Giving Tree donation drive is available by contacting Daycroft at (734) 662-3335 orkathrynw@daycroft.org.

About Daycroft Montessori School

Daycroft Montessori School blends the distinctive student-centered teaching methods of Maria Montessori with traditional and progressive education. This helps Daycroft accomplish its mission: to provide a personalized learning environment that appreciates individual differences, nurtures the whole child, and enables students to develop at their own pace and achieve to their potential.

Daycroft is one of Washtenaw County’s leading private schools. It began as a preschool program in 1968. Daycroft has since grown to include a full-day kindergarten program, an elementary school program through 6th grade, before-school and after-school care, summer camp programs, and enrichment classes.

Daycroft has earned accreditation from the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS; www.isacs.org). It is a member of the Association of Independent Michigan Schools (AIMS; www.aims-mi.org), the American Montessori Society (AMS; www.amshq.org), and the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association (NAMTA; www.montessori-namta.org).

More information is at www.daycroft.org.

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