A small mountain of pajamas and a lot of generosity, added together, will mean a warm Christmas morning for lots of deserving children in Stettler.
The Christmas PJs campaign, organized by Kathy Pivert and Brenda Leigh Vegter, collected more than 100 pairs of pajamas from Dec. 1 to 17.
“Everyone likes to wake up in a new pair of pajamas for Christmas morning,” said Pivert. “We just collected what we could.”
Using social media and posters to promote the campaign, the two encouraged residents to drop off their donations at the Memories for Eternity photo studio on Main Street.
A total of 65 pairs for boys and 52 pairs for girls were collected as of Thursday, Dec. 18, and will be distributed through the Stettler Christmas Hamper Society.
The society provided details for each child — age, size and sex — who will receive pajamas, to ensure they are matched up with the right style and fit.
The recipients range in age from newborns to 18 years, but Pivert said they will remain anonymous in keeping with the society’s privacy policy.
Cash donations were used to fill in the gaps for any sizes that weren’t donated, and Pivert said the leftover funds will be turned over to the society to help with its costs.
This was the first time the two had organized such a campaign. Pivert said they were pleased with the response and with the altruism shown by townspeople.
“A lot of people shared it on Facebook,” she said, calling the community “pretty generous.”
Local band Domino also took part in the campaign, posting pictures on its Facebook page of band members shopping for pajamas.
In addition to pajamas, local residents also donated some slippers and bathrobes.