NEWS RELEASE

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is pleased to announce that First Lady of the Commonwealth Lauren Baker will kick off the 10^th annual Boston Bruins Pajama drive at the Children’s Library of the Boston Public Library’s Central Library in Copley Square on February 1^st. She will be joined by Department of Children and Families (DCF) Commissioner Linda Spears, and MBLC Chair Mary Ann Cluggish for a special story time featuring Bruins mascot Blades.

The Boston Bruins PJ Drive benefits babies, children, and teens, and 2017 marks the first year that the DCF Kids Fund will be a recipient of a portion of the PJs collected. With the participation of the DCF Kids, the drive will positively impact every community in Massachusetts. “Every year libraries in Western Massachusetts ask us if donated PJs will be going back to their community” said MBLC Director Dianne Carty. “This is the first time we are able to give a resounding ‘Yes’ as an answer, and we are thrilled to work with the DCF Kids Fund to make this happen.”

Pajamas will also be given to the organization Cradles to Crayons which is a longtime partner with the Bruins and the drive.

Bruins forward P.J. Axelsson and his wife, Siw, started the PJ drive during the Boston Bruins 2007-2008 season as a way to give back to their community. The couple collected 1,600 pairs of pajamas for Cradles to Crayons which connects with social service agencies across the state to identify specific children in need. Since its inception, the drive has collected 84,000 pajamas.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) works with the Boston Bruins to coordinate library participation in the drive. This year’s drive has 116 participating public and school libraries, up from 69 last year. Libraries from around the state use the Massachusetts Library System’s delivery service, typically used to send books and other library materials, to send their PJs to the regional sorting centers which increases libraries’ ability to participate in the drive.

The 2017 drive runs from February 1st through March 15th, and the goal is to collect 10,000 pairs of new pajamas. Last year, the drive soared passed its target goal of 6,750 PJs and collected more than 8,312 pairs of new pajamas and $11,298.31 in financial donations. The public can get involved by bringing new pajamas to a local library and donating them to the drive.

The PJ Drive is presented by Freihofer’s & Roche Brothers. For more information, and to see participating libraries, please visit https://libraries.state.ma.us/pages/PJ-Drive-2017.