Tell your boss next Friday is PJS day

IF you’ve got a soft spot for foster kids then National Pyjama Day is for you. Dubbo Photo News is putting the call out to Dubbo businesses to wear their PJS to work on Friday, July 20, to show your support for foster children.

You can also register your support on the Pyjama Foundation’s website, and raise a little money. Let us know if you’re on board, and Dubbo Photo News will drop in to get your photo.

The money raised from National Pyjama Day helps The Pyjama Foundation offer learning skills to more than 1000 children, fund educational resources and help provide stable, positive relationships.

They run what’s called the “Love of Learning Program” which helps get potential volunteers recruited, screened, trained and then matched with a child in care, to spend time with them once a week, focusing on learning-based activities.

“Pyjama Angels” as these volunteers are called, read books aloud with their child, play educational games and help children with their homework.

Children in care have the lowest education outcomes nationally so the role of these volunteers is to give foster children a chance to reach their life potential, despite a fragile start.

The Love of Learning program is the only service of its type supporting children in care with evidence-based literacy and numeracy programs in the out-of-school environment in Australia.

The Pyjama Foundation has a resource library in every region where volunteers can borrow books, games and resources to take to the children each week. This is a free service.

There are more than 51,000 children in Foster Care in Australia. Many of these children have missed out on stable, positive and healthy family relationships and stable schooling. More than one quarter of children in care report having problems at school that they have been unable to get help with.