Every Child Should Have A New Pair of PJ’s For Christmas

For Oakville’s Robyn Bowman, owner of the Creating Space Yoga Studio, the holidays are about helping others.

“I know the holidays are approaching when my inner elf kicks in and I start preparing for the annual Holiday Pyjama Drive for the Halton Children’s Aid Foundation,” she noted.

This will be Bowman’s fifth year organizing the drive, which she founded.

And she is not alone in her efforts as the community has rallied behind the cause.

In the past, local hockey teams, dance studios, grade schools and the yoga community have come on board to help out with the collection effort.

Last year, the drive took in more than 200 pairs of new pyjamas.  This year, the organizer hopes to see a surge in those numbers.

The pyjama drive started as a family tradition, said Bowman.  “Every Christmas Eve, my children would be able to open just one gift. Always that gift was a pair of fuzzy pjs,” she explained.  That tradition became “a wish that all children could go to sleep during the holidays feeling warm, cozy and cared for,” she said.

Bowman and her team of volunteers will be accepting new pyjamas until Saturday, Dec.14.  Although all sizes are appreciated, the greatest need is for sizes suitable for 10-18-year-olds.

Those who wish to drop off a pyjama donation can do so in person by visiting Creating Space Yoga Studio at 594 Chartwell Rd.

Drop boxes will be located inside and outside the studio.

Donations can also be accepted at Grace Academy of Dance and Performing Arts at 785 Pacific Rd.

For more information, call 905-337-3598, email robyn@creatingspaceyoga.ca, or visit www.creatingspaceyoga.ca.

The article originally appeared in The Oakville Beaver on Thursday, December 5, 2013