Our Sponsors:
Helen’s Pajama Party
108 3rd Street, Suite 216
Des Moines, IA 50309
515-244-7706 800-760-7706
Thanks from Kelly!
This is a much overdue thank you to everyone who has donated pajamas, forwarded an email, served as a store monitor, donated money or helped me in any other way.
I've been a bit in the media lately, but don’t let that fool you. It's all of you who make Helen's Pajama Party happen. Granted, it wasn’t too bad for a middle-of-the-night idea, but if you hadn't embraced it and donated pajamas, the shelters wouldn't be getting them! It’s that simple.
Without Rotary District 6000, the Rotary Club of Des Moines and John Tone this endeavor would never have emerged as it has. Rotary provided grant money that enabled me to buy the first signs, sign-holders, bins, tags, ribbon and all the other things necessary to take on so large a challenge as providing new pajamas to every domestic violence shelter in Iowa — roughly 3000 pairs a year.
Carolyn Scharff, Executive Director of Rotary District 6000 is wonderful every day as is Kitte Noble from my club. I also appreciate having been asked to speak at the Indianola, Ames, Fort Madison and Corallville Rotary clubs as well as at PEO meetings.
I would be nowhere without Walt Blake, the advertising and promotions manager at Dahls, and all their very nice store directors and managers. It's hard to collect such a large number of pajamas without having accessible places where people can drop them off.
Jodi Tomlonovic helped me so much the first year I started. I swear she knows everyone in Des Moines. She forwarded my letter to many others which resulted in literally hundreds of pairs of pajamas being donated.
Marla Naumann has been someone I can always count on. I'd be getting ready to send 150 pairs of pajamas to a shelter, but find that I was short on smalls or mediums. I’d put out a distress call to her, and violà, she'd find a way to provide them.
I extend my gratitude to Don Easter, Carl Harris, Bonnie Campbell, Phyllis Bridson, Alan Zuckert, Gale Hendry, Marti Anderson, David and Sara Walker, Pam Kyzer, Joyce Chapman and Bev Evans for generous cash donations. It allows me to buy pajamas to fill in sizes where I'm lacking.
Gloria Gray has been my mentor and Terry Lebo, Julie Dixon, DeAnn Thompson, Cindy Short, Allyson Walter, Steve Ferguson, Alan Zuckert and Sharon Stein have been my encouragers.
Judy Meyers has taken over running the pajama drive in Iowa City, and Don Borcherding with help from Pat Walsh and Alyson Walter have done the same for Ames. That's such a huge, huge, HUGE weight off my shoulders. And Jeanne White organized a phenomenal collection effort at the Tipton, Iowa Schools.
A big thank you also goes to Sal Salgado, Ray Barker, and Bonnie Renda and the Association of Cosmetologists and Barbers of Iowa for their support, and to the many salon owners who have volunteered their time and salon space to collecting pajamas.
I'm sure there are more I should be specifically mentioning, and I apologize to you for being feeble-minded at 7:30 PM on a Friday night with (yet another) bronchial illness!
Letters from Shelter Directors:
