What do cozy pajamas, helping the less fortunate, and llamas have in common? A community event combining compassion and the company of a furry friend makes giving back more memorable than ever.
The 4th annual Laughs, Llamas, and Pajamas event on Thursday, Nov. 21 invited participants to donate pajamas while enjoying the company of some special guests: llamas!
While the llamas draw in the crowd, this event is dedicated to bringing comfort and hope to the homeless, ensuring they have the proper clothing they need to face the challenges of this cold season with both warmth and dignity. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to bring a pair or two of pajamas to donate to the women and children of My Sister’s House, a ministry of Atlanta Mission.
This event is about more than just clothing donations. It’s about uniting the Atlanta community, raising awareness and bringing a smile to all those participating.
“I love when people participate in all this silly stuff that we do,” said Tracy Munroe, owner of Wit’s End Llama Consortium. “I love bringing the community together, it’s fantastic.”
Wit’s End Llama Consortium is comprised of a herd of highly trained therapy llamas that provide services for weddings, festivals, birthdays, corporate businesses, hiking programs, film and photoshoots, as well as creative celebrations with multi-use concepts, as seen in Uptown Atlanta.
Uptown Atlanta provides a central destination connecting Buckhead and Midtown, a confluence of Atlanta’s most significant trails.
“Things [events] have to be different, because of these guys and how intelligent they are,” said Munroe. “Doing the variety of things that we do, just makes it such an enrichment for them. You really see it.”
Atlanta Mission is Atlanta’s largest and longest provider of services to homeless people. The vision for Atlanta Mission is, “a community united to end homelessness, one person at a time.”
The llamas are joined by Daytime Moon Creativity and the improvisation experts of Whole World Improv, bringing more entertainment and laughter to the crowd.
Adding to the fun, many attendees arrived in their coziest pajamas, furthering the playful atmosphere as they donated clothes to those in need. Daniel Easton and Liz Gillespie took this a step further and chose to wear onesies highlighting the special guests of the event: the llamas of Wit’s End.
“Comfort and kindness can go hand in hand,” said Gillespie. “We wanted to show the llamas how welcomed they are and how excited we are to see them.”
Because the event received 212 pajama donations, the spirit of giving and community will continue to shine brightly at My Sister’s House this holiday season.
“Our campus director at My Sister’s House shelter has planned a day where all of our clients will come together for a pajama day, including movies and hot chocolate, for the families in the shelter,” said Marie McCollum-Williams, Atlanta Mission senior volunteer manager. “Those who participated by donating PJs have made this opportunity so special for the kids and their moms.”
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