January -- March, Let the Holidays Last for the Children!

January -- March, Let the Holidays Last for the Children!
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Christmas is coming! New Year's is almost here! The season has come and gone so fast!

All true... but we know that for tens of thousands of children across the U.S., the months of January, February and March are just as significant -- maybe more so -- than December with all its holiday hoopla.

For the children we serve, it's still freezing cold at bedtime, it's dark at 5pm, the wind howls at night just as loudly as it did on Christmas eve, and scary monsters may still be under the bed. But in January, there is a distinct quiet in the air. Fewer visitors are stopping by with gifts and holiday songs disappear from the sound waves. There's no hope that Santa will make a delayed stop.

During the generous holiday giving time , donors may be concerned about missing a deadline for their gifts to arrive "in time." For us at Pajama Program, the children in shelters and group homes, the little ones waiting for new, safe places to live, the teenagers struggling to belong somewhere, to someone, and the thousands of youngsters removed from a dangerous home every week will be wondering if they will be cared for, if anyone will remember them from January 1st on.

We are thrilled about every single donation coming in now and after Dec 25th. In January there are so many children entering group homes and shelters -- so many for the first time -- who will desperately need pajamas and books. It breaks our heart if we have nothing to give in the New Year. These children have missed the generosity of the holidays and we don't want them to miss out on gifts into 2014. Their needs are great, especially in the winter season which is "Danger Season" for them in so many ways.

Next up is Valentine's Day -- let's Open Our Hearts for the children starting January 1st!

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