April 2014 April 2014 | Page 11

WSOS Afterschool Program Students Gain National Support for Literacy through 1 Million Good Nights Pajama Program WSOS Community Action Commission school-age afterschool programs were recently selected to become a recipient of the 1 Million Good Nights Pajama Program. This program provides new pajamas and new books to children in need nationwide. The program was founded in 2001. Founders of the programs sought to target children who are less likely to enjoy the simple comfort of having a mother or father tuck them in at night with warm clean pajamas and a bedtime story. Many of these children live well below the poverty levels and are in desperate need of food, clothing and sometimes shelter. The project goal is to provide One Million Good Nights for children who need them most. Much of the success of the program can be contributed to Scholastic Books, a lead partner on the project who has donated hundreds of thousands of new children’s books to the Pajama Program program since 2007. The Literacy Program’s goal is focused on lifelong learning and upon making a positive impact on the growth of student readers. Measuring the impact of the Pajama Program on positive change in our student readers’ growth is the important focus of the Literacy Program also. Through its partnership with Carter’s, Pajama Program is able to provide hundreds of thousands warm and comforting pajamas to under-served, abused and neglected children to help create a secure and nurturing bedtime environment. Carter’s have been supporting Pajama Program with generous contributions of new pajamas, funding and annual in-store donation drives since 2001. Before the Christmas holiday season WSOS was contacted by a representative from the Pajama Program Headquarters & Reading Center in New York City with the award notification. One hundred and twenty-two pairs of boys and girls pajamas were delivered to the afterscho