LIVERPOOL — One of the cozy comforts of a snow day or a sick day is snuggling in your pajamas. But pajamas can lose their luster when you’re stuck in them day after day, like many children hospitalized for cancer treatments. That’s why Paige’s Butterfly Run, a local nonprofit dedicated to funding pediatric cancer research and patient programs, started Pajamarama a decade ago.
“You get to wear pajamas for children who have to,” said Jennifer Huntley, director of development for Paige’s Butterfly Run.
Paige Yeomans Arnold was a first-grader when she was diagnosed with leukemia in 1993. She passed away in 1994. A group of Paige’s teachers and her parents organized the first Paige’s Butterfly Run in 1997. Since then, the organization has raised more than $3.7 million.
Earlier this fall, students in five school districts in Onondaga County participated in a friendly Pajamarama competition, raising a total of $31,472.37 for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. Liverpool teamed up with East Syracuse Minoa and Fayetteville-Manlius in the “Warrior Alliance,” facing off against North Syracuse and West Genesee’s “Star Alliance.” The schools presented their donations to Paige’s Butterfly Run on Nov. 18 at Liverpool High School.
“It’s the best one yet. It’s the most they’ve ever raised, which is incredible,” Huntley said of the 2022 Pajamarama total.
While students from pre-K on up are invited to wear their jammies, “the high schoolers actually really get into it,” Huntley said.
“There were kids holding the buckets to collect money, and they went wild trying to get people to put a buck in the bucket,” she said.
Melissa Palmisano, a teacher at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, is the adviser of the C-NS Principal’s Cabinet, a group of 30 to 40 students who organize charitable activities. In 2019, C-NS created a video to challenge Liverpool to a Pajamarama fundraising competition. The video, directed by student Jacob Lax, went viral and the schools raised more than $20,000.
The C-NS Principal’s Cabinet received the “Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy” Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Central New York Chapter in 2021 for their Pajamarama campaign.
“A lot of our students and their families know someone that’s been affected by pediatric cancer and they feel connected to the cause, especially with Paige’s Butterfly Run because all the money stays local,” Palmisano said. “Their mission is so wonderful that the kids can’t help but cheerlead for them.”
Speakers from Golisano presented to high schoolers about the hospital’s pediatric cancer programs ahead of Pajamarama. Helping students understand the local impact of their efforts is essential to “building philanthropy” with the kids, Huntley said.
“It’s important when we ask these things of kids to let them know the impact,” she said. “There are kids who are enduring a lot, and it’s important to be there for them. I think it’s important to instill that in the kiddos.”
Each year, Golisano serves as many as 700 pediatric cancer patients from 22 counties in New York State — “from Pennsylvania to Canada and halfway to Albany and Rochester,” Huntley said.
Palmer Elementary in Baldwinsville, where Paige went to school, will hold its own Pajamarama event in December.
“Going into next year, we’re going to reach out to more schools to see if they’re willing to participate,” Huntley said.
“I’d love to take on more schools,” said Palmisano. “How fun would it be to have all the schools in Central New York?”
While Pajamarama is largely a school event, adults can get in on the fun too. Just as many offices hold casual Friday jeans fundraisers, businesses can participate in Pajamarama.
“This time of year it’s especially fun,” Huntley said, noting that people could wear holiday-themed pajamas.
If your school or business is interested in holding a Pajamarama day to support Paige’s Butterfly Run, contact Jennifer Huntley at 315-217-1724 or [email protected]. Schools can also contact Melissa Palmisano at [email protected].
Learn more about Paige’s Butterfly Run and upcoming events at pbrun.org.
