Local Schools, Businesses Participate in PJ Day Iowa

The second annual PJ Day Iowa, a signature event for Joppa, was held in Central Iowa on Friday with countless schools and businesses participating and bringing awareness to homelessness. Kids in grades K-12 from over 20 schools wore pajamas to help “put homelessness to bed.”

“There are a lot of kids in my class who are actually homeless, just because they don’t live on the streets doesn’t mean they have somewhere to go at night. Sometimes they have to find a friend to stay with…” –Katelynn Cochrane-Wylie, Student Body President, Lincoln High School

“It makes me really sad, they told us what percentage of our school is homeless, it’s really sad. It makes me realize we are walking by them every day.” –Taylor Phelps, Lincoln High School

It wasn’t just kids that felt called to bring this cause forward. Several companies also invited their employees to participate.

PJ Day originally started in Denver. Two years ago, Joppa asked permission to bring the event to Iowa. Celebrating its second annual event, Joppa was in awe of the participation this year.

“The response was overwhelming. To walk into school after school and see all of the effort put into collecting supplies, wearing pajamas and educating students about people in our communities who are rarely acknowledged was extremely moving and encouraging,” said Lorie Williamson, PJ Day Iowa Event Chair.

“Adults were just as involved, wearing pajamas or slippers to work and collecting donations,” Williamson said. “It was very heart-warming to see fellow Iowans taking action in such a fun and meaningful way.”

Schools encouraged students to lead PJ Day Iowa activities. Kids organized supply drives, crafted handmade notes, filled blessing bags with necessities and created awareness activities.

Joppa has served the homeless in Central Iowa since 2008, housing over 250 homeless men, women, and children, 92% remain in housing today. If you would like to learn more or get involved, please explore joppa.org.