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Casey Cares Foundation Collecting Pajamas For Critically Ill Children All Month Long

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Mark your calendars: April 16 is National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day!

The Casey Cares Foundation is celebrating it by hosting a pajama party all month long to support families with kids who are critically ill.

Rita Melvin can remember the day her daughter was brought to the hospital.

"We had noticed that she had a rash on her legs and her arms," she said.

Giana was diagnosed with leukemia. Being so small, her dad said her hospital gown was too big.

"The hospital gown just... it doesn't fit," Jacob Gude said. "It didn't work for her."

Then, they received a pair of pajamas from Casey Cares.

"It was really nice to have some pajamas," Gude said.

"Being able to have something nice and cozy and comfortable is huge," Erin Ritter, of Deputy Associate Director of the Casey Cares Foundation, said.

For the past six years, the foundation has been donating pajamas for their annual pajama party.

"We provide new pajamas to area hospitals and then we also provide them to our families in the movie and pizza night packs," Ritter said.

It's an added bonus for families who can't leave the house.

"With her diagnosis, she couldn't really be out in public much because her blood count would be low," Gude said.

This year, there are even more ways to give by ordering via amazon.

"On April 16, they can drop off one, two, three pairs of pajamas, and then they actually get a free sandwich card," Ritter said.

Giana and her family have been collecting pajamas all year.

"I donated 281 pajamas," Giana said.

"We kind of know what it's like for families to experience what we experienced and know how grateful and fun it can be for kids who are critically ill," Melvin said.

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