October 11 - Project Night Night

Project Night Night donates over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year, free of charge, to homeless children who need our childhood essentials to feel secure, cozy, ready to learn, and significant. Each Night Night Package contains a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children's book, and a stuffed animal -- all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. By providing objects of reliable comfort, Project Night Night reduces trauma and advances the emotional and cognitive well-being of the children we serve.


Every child who receives one of our Night Night Packages leaves the shelter owning a book which encourages reading and family bonding, a security blanket which can be cuddled, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend. We have one objective – to deliver our Night Night Packages to every homeless child in the country who needs one.


There are approximately 298,000 homeless families in the United States. Currently, there are more homeless children in the U.S. than at any other time since the Great Depression. Nonetheless, family homelessness often goes unseen as most homeless families do not live on the street. Instead, most homeless families are transient, living in shelters, in cars, in hotels in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, or staying with friends or family members.

These environmental stresses negatively influence a child’s early experiences and often lead to an increase in mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, poor sleep habits, and behavioral issues. To ease the anxiety associated with shelter living, Project Night Night distributes Night Night Packages to homeless children ages 0-10. Each Night Night Package includes an age-appropriate book, a baby blanket which can be cuddled, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend.


Finding comfort is vitally important for children in order to feel secure, loved, and valued – even in the midst of the upheaval and uncertainty attendant to homelessness.


Project Night Night distributes over 25,000 books each year to homeless children. Children who are homeless often have lower academic achievement, exacerbated by frequent moves, lack of privacy and psychological distress, than do children with homes. Many homeless children report that they had difficulty finding a quiet place to study or do homework while in the shelter



Get Involved:

Donate to Project Night Night.

Vote for Project Night Night and help them to win a Pepsi Refresh grant and help them provide 10,000 Night Night packages to homeless children.

Other ways you can help Project Night Night.

Donate items to Project Night Night.

Share

Find One Way Every Day on Facebook.
Help me spread the word about One Way Every Day. LIKE me on Facebook!


Source:  http://www.projectnightnight.org/