Last year, The National Alliance to End Homelessness accounted for over 40,000 youth without a home. That does not mean every one of those youth were living on the street though. Many homeless youths live in shelters, hotels, with family or friends, or in cars. Children who transition from one place to another commonly experience learning delays and mental health problems later in life at a rate higher than children who live in their families’ own home and have a routine schedule. All children want to feel secure, comforted and valued. When unexpected changes occur on a frequent basis, like those associated with homelessness, it can be challenging for children to feel the aforementioned states of well-being.

Project Night Night is a wonderful organization which aims to help homeless children feel safe and comforted at night. Their mission is, “to provide free Night Night Packages to homeless children from birth to pre-teen who need our childhood essentials to have a concrete and predictable source of security and increased exposure to high-quality literacy materials during this time of upheaval.” Project Night Night provides blankets, age-appropriate books, and stuffed animals to homeless children! This month’s campaign aims to help Project Night Night and other organizations which ensure homeless youth have a good nights sleep.

Items Needed for This Month’s Campaign

• • • NEW stuffed animals
    • NEW blankets
    • NEW children’s books
    • A box for shipping the items

Here are Project Night Night’s guidelines for donations

How to Do This Month’s Campaign

Gather your supplies and arrange them in your box to be shipped to one of Project Night Night’s mailing locations found here. Take your box to the post office, FedEx, or UPS and mail your donated items. If you happen to live close to one of Project Night Night’s donation locations you can also deliver them in person. It would be a good idea to contact the location representative to see when would be the best time to stop by.