Honors students seek new PJs & books for Sandy victims

From left, Sally Ann Goncalves ’13 and nursing student Jacqueline Hunterton-Anderson ’15 peer above the pile of new pajamas that have been donated to the Pajama Project.

The Honors students and the campus honors societies are in the midst of a drive to collect new warm pajamas and children’s’ books to donate to the Pajama Program for children affected and displaced by Hurricane Sandy.

Psychology major Sally Ann Goncalves ’13, a member of Alpha Chi, Psi Chi, and an Honors student posted an event on her Facebook page about collecting new pajamas and books. Contributions started to come in and her employer, Advanced Rehab Solutions of Springfield, NJ, donated 30 pajama sets, 20 children’s books and $200 after she posted a flyer at work.

After Hurricane Sandy, thousands of families are without their homes and/or possessions. Having a nice warm pair of pajamas and a new book to read might just make the experience a little less frightening for the younger victims of this natural disaster. “We are getting a very good response,” says Carolyn Spies, associate vice president for academic affairs and the faculty advisor for the Honors Program. “Our students have been very enthusiastic about getting donations, including wearing the pajamas (tops only) to school.” To date the Honors students have collected about 50 sets of pajamas and have between 40 and 50 children’s books. The collection continued through Thursday, December 6th.