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.