 HOMEPROGRAM CHAPTERSEVENTS/NEWSMEDIA COVERAGETESTIMONIALSBOARDPARTNERSDONATE Blue | LARRIE'S BLOG Here's where to email Larrie: I became aware of The Pajama Program when I saw Genevieve Piturro on the Oprah show. Genevieve's enthusiasm about the pajamas and books for the children brought back a flood of memories. So many years ago, just like Genevieve, I also looked forward to a bedtime story every night when I was a little girl-- and listening to a story in a comfy pair of favorite pajamas was one of my favorite parts of every day. I quickly found The Pajama Program web-site and made a donation to Genevieve's organization. And just as quickly, I knew the donation wasn't enough. Because of my love of reading, and my understanding that a pair of pajamas can make a child feel cozy and at-home, I knew I needed to do more. When I realized that the Houston area didn't have its own chapter of The Pajama Program, my first thought was "I can do that!" There are so many children here who can benefit from Genevieve's Pajama Program, and I am thrilled to be part of this. My goal is to reach out to as many children as we can in the Houston/Clear Lake area.... with pajamas, books, and lots of love. I also hope to establish a Pajama Program Reading Center, filled with books and pajamas and cozy chairs for story-time reading. If you live in the Houston area and would like to help in any way with our Chapter, please email me at larrie@pajamaprogram.org. SUMMER SURPRISES..... Thank you to everyone who collected and sent us pajamas for the children of the Pajama Program in the Houston/Clear Lake area! Corey Carpenter, a Junior at Clear Lake High School, personally bought 126 pajama sets and clothing for the children of Godtel Ministries in Livingston. Our "One-Woman Pajama Party" Barbara Dowell added 15 more pajama sets to her ever-growing total of donations. Lisa K., our most-generous flip-flop slipper lady, personally made 68 pairs of slippers which were distributed to Interfaith Caring Ministries, Godtel Ministries, Spaulding for Children, and the Gabriel Project of St. Bernadette's Church. Becky Drowatzky sent us 38 pajama sets which were collected from the Vacation Bible School group of Trinity Episcopal Church in Spring, TX. The Atascocita Presbyterian Church has been collecting pajamas and books all summer long and will be delivering them to the children of Family Time Foundation and Depelchin's Children Center. Julie Jones and her "Southern Ladies Enjoying Wine" collected 27 pajama sets at their August meeting. Lisa Twine, from Shell Trading Gas & Power, collected 65 pajama sets from Shell employees and delivered them to Spaulding for Children. Cammie Beierle, of Clear Lake Baptist Church, collected 24 pajama sets from the teenagers who attended the "Back to School Bash" held at the church at the end of August. The collection number of pajamas to date is now up to 1400..... and when the numbers from the Atascocita collections come in, that total will be higher. I truly thank all of you who have taken time during these busy summer months to remember the children of the Pajama Program here in the Houston/Clear Lake area. It's been a wonderful summer filled with pajamas and slippers, and the generosity of all our volunteers is most appreciated! .....Larrie
Slippers to go with our pajamas! Our Houston Chapter is delighted to introduce Lisa K., who donated 35 pairs of slippers for children of the Houston area who receive pajamas through the Pajama Program. Lisa buys flip-flops in all sizes and crochets colorful yarns around the front straps.... the colors are bright and fun, the yarns are soft and comforting, and they just make you smile when you look at them. Lisa began creating these flip-flops last year and giving them to friends and family. She decided to donate these slippers to the Houston Chapter of the Pajama Program when she saw an article about us in a local newspaper. Lisa will be delivering her flip-flop slippers to us on a regular basis, and we are just truly overwhelmed by her heart-warming generosity. July Pajama Collections.... A note from Chapter President Larrie, to thank the following friends and volunteers for their pajama collections and donations for our Houston Chapter........ Thank you to Fran Carey (Long Island, NY) for her generous and loving gift of 30 pajama sets for our Houston children. Thank you to Samantha Hosemann of the Whataburger Corporation in Houston, who will be working with our Chapter to provide food and refreshments (from Whataburger) for upcoming Pajama Events. Thank you to the ladies of Interfaith Caring Ministries, for suggesting that I meet with Lori Gutheinz and Monica Lambert of St. Bernadette's Church. Thank you also to the Children's Department staff at the Freeman Library, who continue to collect pajamas for us every week. As of mid-July, our Chapter has collected 1,042 pajamas for children in and around Houston. I just cannot begin to describe all the happiness and smiles and pure joy that these pajamas have given to the children who are receiving them! One story that I have to share, told to me by Lori Gutheinz of St. Bernadette's Gabriel Project...... a little boy told her that all he wanted was a pair of size 10 pajamas, and she was so sorry that she had to tell him that the Gabriel Project only had pajamas for infants. The next day, during my first conversation with Lori, she was so thrilled to hear that I had a pair of size 10 pajamas for that little boy. I quickly got them to her, and she gave them to the little boy. Lori says that it was more than "just fate" that brought the Pajama Program to St. Bernadette's Church this month. I truly thank you all..... Larrie
St. Bernadette's Church in Clear Lake.... The Houston Chapter delivered 35 infant pajamas to The Gabriel Project of St. Bernadette's, which is dedicated to saving babies and helping mothers throughout pregnancy and delivery. Pictured are Dee Goalwin and her daughter Savannah, Aurora Summa and her son Nicholas, Tracy Demel, Lori Gutheinz, Father Adrian Wilde (Associate Pastor), and Joan Bentley. Lori's enthusiasm for the Gabriel Project, as well as for the Pajama Program, is truly overwhelming and very heart-warming. The Houston Chapter looks forward to providing pajamas for the Gabriel Project for a long time to come. SUMMER PAJAMAS FOR HOUSTON'S CHILDREN This is a thank you from Chapter President Larrie, to all of my friends, neighbors, and volunteers who continue to keep the cool pajama spirit in the midst of our summer's heat. Thank you to Ada Pryor of Pearland, who always remembers our Houston Chapter and surprises me with pajama-filled shopping bags. Thank you to Barbara Dowell of Clear Lake, who has been a one-woman pajama party, donating 124 pajama sets and 48 books to our Houston Chapter. A big thank you to Cary Lindley who is arranging a Pajama Drive with the Safety Patrol Group at Ed White Elementary School. Thank you also to the Marshalls Store, for the gift card sent to the Houston Chapter, which was used to buy summer pajama sets for boys. Thank you also to Kari at Half Price Books, who continues to set aside boxes of books every week for our Chapter. We have collected, as of the first week of June... 694 pajama sets and 417 books, which have been delivered to Interfaith Caring Ministries, Turning Point, Spaulding for Children, Family Time Foundation, Star of Hope, and Godtel Ministries. I truly thank everyone who has had (or is now planning) their own Pajama Party, has displayed a Pajama Box in their office, school, or library, and those who have just come to my front door with pajamas for our Houston children! Our One-Woman Pajama Party in Clear Lake
Barbara Dowell and her family have lived in Clear Lake for thirty-one years. For the past sixteen years, Barbara has been a Para-Professional in Special Education at Space Center Intermediate School, and she is always on a mission to do all she can for the students in her classes. When Barbara heard about Genevieve's Pajama Program, she started pajama-shopping for Larrie's Houston Chapter. Barbara was thoughtful enough to find pajamas for children of all ages, from tiny infant sizes to the larger-size pajama sets for teenagers. As of the end of June, Barbara has personally bought 124 pajama sets and 48 books, all of which have now been delivered to children in the Houston/Clear Lake area. Barbara is truly a one-woman pajama party, and we sincerely thank her for all the pajamas and books that have brought smiles to the children who received them. PAJAMA BOX AT YE OLD CLOCKE SHOPPE "What can I do to help?" That was the first question from Linda Lee, owner of League City's well-known Clocke Shoppe, when she met the Houston Chapter President. Linda was also watching the Oprah show the day that Genevieve Piturro was featured, and she was amazed at the number of pajamas brought into Oprah's studio for the Pajama Program. Linda now has a Pajama Box of her own, right inside her shop on Main Street in League City, which she hopes will be filled up with pajamas from customers, friends and residents.
PAJAMA DAY AT BLINDS.COM A PAJAMA BOX AT LEAGUE CITY ANTIQUE SHOP  Jamie DeFabio, owner of "Hole in The Wall Mall," now has a Pajama Box in his antique shop, ready to be filled up with new pajamas from his customers, dealers, friends and residents in the League City area. Both Jamie DeFabio and Libby Harris will be accepting pajamas and books at the shop on Highway 3, every week Tuesday through Saturday. The Pajama Box is on the front desk in the main shop, but pajamas and books can also be brought to Libby at the shop's annex. As always, new pajamas can be for a child of any age or size, boy or girl, from infants to teens. PAJAMA BOX AT THE FREEMAN LIBRARY!  The Freeman Branch Library in Clear Lake now has a "Pajama Box" on display near the bulletin board in the Children's Department. The Children's Dept. staff (Holly Koile, Theresa Dumas, Elizabeth Hunt, Christina Thompson, Dileyda Martinez, Penny Atkinson) will be collecting new pajamas for the Houston Chapter of Pajama Program... all summer long, from May 17th until August 18th. All of the pajamas collected will be going to children-in-need right here in the Houston area. The Houston Chapter is currently providing new pajamas and books to the following children's agencies--- Interfaith Caring Ministries, Family Time Foundation, Spaulding for Children, Godtel Ministries, Star of Hope Mission, and Turning Point. Next time you plan a trip to Freeman Library in Clear Lake , please bring new pajamas for a child of any age (infants to teens), boy or girl... and say hello to the staff in the Children's Department when you add your pajama-gift to our Pajama Box!APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY PAJAMAS.... It's been raining a lot in Houston--- raining pajamas and books for Our Houston Chapter, which started on April 7th. I couldn't be more pleased with what we've accomplished before the end of our first month. We have collected 186 pajamas sets and 268 books! One Houston volunteer, Lori Stanton, personally bought 44 pairs of pajamas and delivered them (along with 22 books) to the Spaulding for Children Center in the Katy area of Houston . Another volunteer in Clear Lake , Barbara Dowell, personally donated 29 pajama sets and 48 books. Thirty-five books were donated by Cary Lindley and his daughter Katherine. Our local book-shop, Half Price Books, donated 60 children's books during the month of April. Our first Pajama Party (at our home) gave us a great start with 95 pajama sets and 109 books, all donated by friends, neighbors, and Half Price Books. Pajamas and books were also delivered to Interfaith Caring Ministries in League City , Godtel Ministries in Livingston , and Turning Point in Webster. May has already begun, and is promising to be just as pajama-filled as April, with our collections now up to 313 pajamas and 345 books. I'd like to thank the following volunteers for their help: Ada Pryor of Pearland, for suggesting Interfaith Caring Ministries for our first delivery of pajamas and books; Tonya Mattson for compiling a list of children's shelters in the Houston area; Tina Garcia for collecting pajamas for Family Time Foundation in Humble; Arnetta Yardbourgh, for collecting 80 pajama sets for Star of Hope (and she is already planning her next event to collect books); and Kristen Garcia-Galan, who is presently collecting pajamas and books in League City. I truly thank all the volunteers..... we're off to such a great start! Thank you all for helping collect and deliver pajamas and books for children in and around Houston! -- Larrie Our local Half Price Books ( Egret Bay location) has been so wonderful in donating books to the Houston Chapter of the Pajama Program. Books for children of all ages are set aside for Chapter President Larrie to sort through each week, and they've been doing this since the Chapter began on April 7th of this year. Pictured are Abraham Houck (holding Morty, the bookstore cat), Kari Pankratz, and James Forsberg (store manager). The friendly and efficient staff in this store have always been helpful and courteous to their customers, but this on-going act of kindness and generosity is beyond compare. In the first three weeks of their book donations to the Houston Chapter, nearly 100 books were given, most of which have already been distributed to Houston children who received pajamas from the Pajama Program. Half Price Books is the greatest bookstore--- just ask Morty!  The Houston Chapter's first delivery of pajamas and books was accepted by Suzy Domingo, the Director of Client Services at the Interfaith Caring Ministry in League City . This well-respected organization has been a safe haven for families in crisis in southeast Houston , and now they will be on the Houston Chapter's permanent list of Receiving Organizations for pajamas and books for the children of those families.  Lynn Carpenter has volunteered to be our Teacher/Student Event Co-ordinator for the Houston Chapter. Lynn is a Resource ParaProfessional at Space Center Intermediate School . She is currently planning a Pajama Drive with the National Junior Honor Society, to take place at the beginning of the new Fall term in August of this year.  For our first Pajama Party, teenagers from Clear Lake High School came to the party and helped to count the pajamas and books... they greeted our guests at the door and helped display the books and pajamas around the house. Pictured are Matt, Mario, Mark, Jacob, Nemanja, Corey (Co-ordinator of Student Volunteers for the Houston Chapter) and Lucia, with Chapter President Larrie LaConte Boetticher. This great group of friends cooked their favorite foods for our potluck dinner and they each brought either pajamas or books to donate to the Pajama Program.  Clear Lake 's first Pajama Party was hosted by Chapter President Larrie LaConte Boetticher and her husband, Dr. Gary D. Boetticher. Friends and neighbors were asked to bring either a pajama set for a child, and/or a storybook for a child of any age. We had a potluck dinner buffet, and a lot of our friends came to the party in their own pajamas! Neighbors who couldn't attend the party were bringing pajamas and books to our house all week long... we had so many pajamas that we decided to hang them up from the bookshelves so everyone could see the pretty sets!  Chapter President with Corey Carpenter, who is the Co-ordinator of Student Volunteers for the Houston Chapter of the Pajama Program. Corey and Larrie have been special friends since 1999, when Corey was a second-grade student of Larrie's in a Reading/Tutoring Program at Armand Bayou Elementary School . Corey's enthusiasm for the Pajama Program is boundless, and she and her friends are excited to be a part of Houston 's Chapter.  Friends and neighbors gathered at the Boetticher's Clear Lake home on April 21, 2007 for the first Pajama Party to celebrate the new Houston Chapter of the Pajama Program. At the end of the night, the final count was 95 pajama sets and 109 books. Our local Half-Price bookstore donated twenty-nine books for this party, and offered us free children's books every month for as long as needed. Now that our neighbors are aware of our Chapter of the Pajama Program, they will be spreading the word to their friends and co-workers, and we hope to be arranging city-wide pajama and book collections for Houston's children. 
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Houston Chapter President Larrie LaConte Boetticher -- I was born and raised in New York, and lived there most of my life. I worked for fifteen years in the Nassau County Public Library system before moving to Texas in 1993. My husband (a professor at the University of Houston - Clear Lake) and I live in the Clear Lake area, sharing our home with our dog Gracie and three cats. 
Wet-n-Wild Back to School Bash.... The Clear Lake Baptist Church hosted a "Back to School Bash" on the church grounds on August 29th. The teenagers were asked to bring pajamas for the Houston Chapter of the Pajama Program, and 24 pajama sets were donated by this fun-loving group of kids, with additional pajamas still coming in until the end of the month. The weather was cloudy and wet for the outdoor party, but the kids didn't mind a bit as they enjoyed all the inflatable water rides, including the world's longest Slip-n-Slide. The Houston Chapter sincerely thanks Cammie, Scott, and Lynn for their efforts which successfully included the Pajama Program in their end-of-summer party for the students who are members of Clear Lake Baptist Church.
A Pajama Party at this local Houston business brought in 50 pajama sets for our Houston Chapter. Shown in the photo below (left to right) are Ashley, Shannon, Krista, Jay Steinfeld (CEO of Blinds.com), Sarah, Ann, and Sharon (Office Manager). The collection and office Pajama Party was arranged and co-ordinated by Sarah, who also offered to deliver the pajamas to Houston 's Spaulding for Children Center . Sarah's enthusiasm for the Pajama Program was evident from her first telephone conversation to the Houston Chapter when she said "Wouldn't it be fun if we all came to the office one day in our pajamas?" And that's how Sarah's pajama event got started! Many, many thanks to everyone at Blinds.com!
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Pajama Program, 34 E. 39th Street, Suite B, New York, NY 10016 , Email: terri@pajamaprogram.org Ph: 212 71 MY PJS (212-716-9757)
Looks like a wonderful program, Bill. So many generous and caring people all making a difference and Larrie is an angel to be spearheading all of this....
Like they say 'It takes a village......'
Jo
Joanna,
If some minister wanted to show an example of a saint on earth, he'd call Larrie to the front of the church. She's always doing stuff like this...and the best of all bests is that no one ever asks her, she just does it.
And their Christmas parties -- hers and Dr. Gary's -- are the best of the bests. They are one of the only things, other than my friends, I miss about moving from the gulf coast.
Diane, contact Larrie. She'll love hearing from you. Here's her email address
larrie@pajamaprogram.org
Bill I bookmarked this so I can come back and read it later, It looks like fun!!
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Miss Carole, I passed your lovely message on to Larrie.
Thanks for your rememberence, Miss Karen. You and Larrie would like each other a lot. I can feel it in my bones.