Daycroft Montessori School of Ann Arbor Invites Community to Join Them in Donating Pajamas, with Matching Book Donations, to Area’s Needy

Want to provide a needy child with some extra bedtime comfort and fun? Give the gift of warm pajamas and a good book.

Students, parents, and staff of Daycroft Montessori School (www.daycroft.org) have invited all in the greater Ann Arbor community to join with them and Scholastic, Inc. (www.scholastic.com) – the publisher of books, magazines, and educational materials for young people – in supporting the Pajama Program (www.pajamaprogram.org) this holiday season.

The Pajama Program is a nonprofit organization that provides new pajamas and books to local children in need – especially those living in shelters, group homes, foster care, and orphanages.

For every pair of new pajamas donated through Daycroft, Scholastic will match that with their own donation of a new book to the Pajama Program.

This Year’s “Giving Tree” Drive

The donation drive is the focus of the “Giving Tree,” a weeklong event sponsored each year by the Daycroft Parent Guild. The program’s aim: to help encourage and expand the community’s charitable giving around the holidays.

Community members are invited to purchase new pajamas and drop them off in the lobby of either Daycroft location: the Preprimary Campus (preschool and kindergarten) at 100 Oakbrook Dr., near Briarwood Mall; or the Elementary Campus (kindergarten through 6th grade) at 1095 N. Zeeb Rd., about a quarter-mile north of Jackson Rd.

To give people more time to purchase and donate new pajamas, Daycroft has this year extended the Giving Tree period beyond the usual week. Drop-off of pajamas at Daycroft begins today and will extend through Tuesday, December 11.

Pajamas must be brand new and manufactured as pajamas; this ensures they are flame-retardant and safe. All sizes of pajamas are needed, from newborn through adult.

More about the Pajama Program can be found at www.pajamaprogram.org. Information about the Giving Tree donation drive is available by contacting Daycroft at (734) 662-3335 or kathrynw@daycroft.org.

About Daycroft Montessori School

Daycroft Montessori School blends the distinctive student-centered teaching methods of Maria Montessori with traditional and progressive education. This helps Daycroft accomplish its mission: to provide a personalized learning environment that appreciates individual differences, nurtures the whole child, and enables students to develop at their own pace and achieve to their potential.

Daycroft is one of Washtenaw County’s leading private schools. It began as a preschool program in 1968. Daycroft has since grown to include a full-day kindergarten program, an elementary school program through 6th grade, before-school and after-school care, summer camp programs, and enrichment classes.

Daycroft has earned accreditation from the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS; www.isacs.org). It is a member of the Association of Independent Michigan Schools (AIMS; www.aims-mi.org), the American Montessori Society (AMS; www.amshq.org), and the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association (NAMTA; www.montessori-namta.org).

More information is at www.daycroft.org.