On Wednesday, October 22, the Pre-Med club celebrated its first annual Pajama Day to raise money for Candlelighters, an organization that supports families of children battling cancer.

The Pre-Med club sold bracelets for $2 to permit any middle or high school student who bought the bracelet to wear their pajamas to school.

This unique and lighthearted fundraising idea was a massive success for the club, raising approximately $500 for the Candlelighters office in El Paso.

The event was organized by junior member of the Pre-Med club, Georgina Rodriguez.

Georgina has been an involved member of the Pre-Med club since she was a freshman, and was inspired to introduce the pajama day to Loretto from her work in the  youth-led non-profit organization, Cancer Kids First.

On the creation of the event, Georgina said, “Cancer Kids First sends out the information on how we can form a pajama day at our own schools to raise awareness for their cause, so I thought it would be nice for Loretto to join in.”

Even though it was the first year, the fundraiser was a massive success, with an estimated 200 bracelets bought and over $500 made.

One key driver of the success was the inclusion of the middle school in the pajama day.

Georgina said, “We thought it would be hard to reach the middle school with our idea…but they ended up being a major part of raising the money.”

The Pre-Med club plans to send the money they raised to the local Candlighters office in El Paso.

Reflecting on this decision, Georgina said, “Because Loretto rents a Candlelighters office in a part of the school, we want to give back to them locally, as opposed to a larger organization who receives more money.”

The Pajama Day was a tremendous success for the Pre-Med club as they are hopeful that the fundraiser will continue to be successful in the coming school years.

Not only raising money for an inspiring cause, the fundraiser brought Loretto Academy’s students together and proved that every small idea can make a great impact.