Darlington School’s ELA-8 division recently launched a service initiative aimed at raising awareness for the foster children in the Greater Rome community. The primary focus of the project is to provide an added level of comfort for these children on their first night at a new foster home.
The Pajamas for Foster Kids initiative grew out of conversations led by a service committee comprised of student representatives from third through eighth grades. A need and a concern for foster children was identified and accepted as the challenge by the group, and then relayed to students from the Early Learning Academy through the eighth grade.
"As a division, we feel that it is important to help our students see the world beyond our immediate Darlington community," said Jennifer Helbing, ELA-8 dean of students. "We cannot begin to imagine the effects of us as a group giving of our time, resources and love."
The Rome-Floyd community ranks second in cost of foster care in the state next to Fulton County, comprising approximately 350 children in the area.
“This is definitely a crisis—it is the highest number of foster cases in our region in several years,” said Jessica Sherman, Division of Family and Children Services Region 3 resource development supervisor.
Upon learning of a national project known as the Pajama Program, students decided to bring the concept to Darlington. The schoolwide goal for Pajamas for Foster Kids is to collect 200 pairs of pajamas in the students’ chosen styles and respective sizes. Once reached, the students will have a special “Pajama Day” to celebrate the project.
“What they enjoyed about the service projects the year before was having a tangible product that they could get their hands on,” said Melinda Brown, Darlington parent and service project co-chair. “We thought this was a wonderful fit.”
Pajama donations will be accepted through Wednesday, Nov. 12. Donations will be gifted together with a handwritten note and a picture drawn by a Darlington student, as well as books that were donated by the Leadership Georgia guests who visited Rome in September. In addition, pillows made by residential students from one of the girls’ dormitories will be included in the special gift package.
“They don’t want to just bring money. They want to do. They understand that it is not just about awareness—it is about action,” said Allison Watters, Darlington parent and service project co-chair. “We want [this project] to provide a good first night, so that the kids have an opportunity to hear a story and sleep in a pair of new pajamas.”
For more information on ways to support Floyd County’s foster community, or to learn more about the Pajamas for Foster Kids service project, contact 706-506-9608.
