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Pajama effort seeks to make bedtime warmer for homeless kids

Glen Ellyn resident Lee Fruit was watching "The Oprah Winfrey Show" while folding her laundry a few years ago when she saw a segment about the Pajama Program, a national not-for-profit effort that collects new pajamas for homeless children.

That very day, she contacted the owners of the Glen Art Theater to talk about renting the theater for a pajama-collecting event in Glen Ellyn.

"I was sitting there, watching this piece on Oprah and crying," Fruit said. "I felt I had to do something like it right here."

On Saturday, the third annual Pajamapalooza event got under way in Glen Ellyn. The event, which supports the Pajama Program, asks residents to donate new, unwrapped pajamas for children of both genders, up to the age of 18.

Collection boxes were set up at the Bells & Whistles Snackery, 405 N. Main St., and the Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane St. The boxes will be available for a week.

"Pajamas are about comfort, warmth and home - things we tend to take for granted," Fruit said. "There are so many children who have never worn a pair before."

In its first two years combined, Pajamapalooza collected 1,100 pairs of pajamas, Fruit said. All donations will be sent to social service agencies in Illinois.

This is the second year that Bells & Whistles Snackery has hosted the event.

"I want to be more than a business owner, I want to provide some service to the community," owner Tracey Kreiling said. "I've been so touched by how people here have responded."

For more information abut Pajamapalooza, e-mail Fruit at stevelee@ameritech.net. More information about the Pajama Program is available at pajamaprogram.org.