Brookhaven Joins With EJ's PJs In Pajama Collection Drive

FARMINGVILLE, NY — The Town of Brookhaven will join with EJ's PJs in a pajama collection drive on Dec. 12 at Connect Church in Centereach.

The event, spearheaded by Town Clerk Kevin LaValle and EJ’s PJs founder, Patricia Poggi, will run from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

It is the Poggi family's tradition to wear what they call their “Poggi Plaid Pajamas” every Christmas, and Patricia and her sons, Edward, Jeremy, and Patrick, wanted "nothing more than to be able to give the same safe, cozy, and warm feeling" a pair of new pajamas to less fortunate people in the community, town officials said.

They held their first event in 2011, starting with a bin on the front porch of the Poggi home, in which only friends and family donated, to now gaining the support of the local community and the town with drop-off boxes throughout Suffolk, according to town officials.

Donations have increased each year due to teamwork with a special network of hardworking and compassionate people who come together, officials said.

In 2021, their efforts expanded with the help of Pastor Hank Kistler of Connect Church in Centereach, his wife, Allison, and LaValle, who was a councilman at the time.

EJs hosted a breakfast featuring pictures with Santa with the goal of collecting 1,000 pairs of pajamas, but they surpassed that with 1,167.

For more information about EJ’s PJs and donation drop-off locations, visit www.ejspjs.org. or call LaValle’s office at 631-451-6920.