To help keep kids warm and well this winter, Wellington Hospitals Foundation has launched its annual Jammies in June Appeal.

Respiratory conditions are a leading cause of acute admissions to hospital for children and Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital sees a significant increase in the number of children who are admitted over the winter months - many of them arriving without a pair of pyjamas.

For children who need hospitalisation, the most common respiratory conditions are also associated with socioeconomic deprivation, and sadly, the Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital’s community nursing teams frequently visit children in homes that are crowded, cold and damp. This leaves young children even more vulnerable to complications from asthma (with one in seven kiwi kids diagnosed as asthmatic), bronchitis and other nasty respiratory infections.

Bill Day, Chair of Wellington Hospitals Foundation said, “Every year we are overwhelmed by our community’s support for Wellington Hospitals Foundation’s annual pyjama appeal. Some kiwi families are doing it really tough and there are many sick kids seen at home by our community nursing teams who have never even owned a pair of pyjamas. Other kids are unexpectedly raced into hospital on cold winter nights with little or no notice. It’s scary for kids, and having a warm pair of clean pyjamas to change into makes a huge difference to our tamariki, rangatahi and whānau.”

With thousands of PJs donated and distributed in the last 5 years, this programme makes a significant difference to many families across our region. Gifts of warm winter pyjamas play an essential part in the care and treatment of children with all sorts of winter illnesses, and with COVID also circulating in our community, it will be even more important for our paediatric teams to distribute warm pyjamas to sick children this winter.

How can our community help?

This year due to COVID we are unable to accept donations of actual pyjamas. But our community can donate online at whf.org.nz and we will buy PJs on their behalf.

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