Whether or not Santa Claus is “coming to town,” underprivileged children in San Francisco will receive brand new books and pajamas this holiday season.

The Urban Community Organizing and Citizen Action class at SF State has mimicked the idea of a book and pajama drive from The Pajama Program. The Pajama Program is a nationwide non-profit organization that provides books and pajamas to children who have been abandoned, are waiting to be adopted, or otherwise neglected.

The class, led by Professor Lisa Hines of the school of social work, focuses on developing community organization and getting citizen participation to help voices be heard.

Students gain the knowledge of power in numbers and how working together can make a difference and change society, Hines said.

“We wanted to do something that could assist people in the community and tie with social services, because our students are getting degrees in social work,” said Hines.

The class localized the larger nationwide project by selecting three organizations in the Bay Area to sponsor the project, which focuses on children and families who are victims of domestic violence and in need of shelter and a new outlook on life.

“This project is for people who normally get used and old things,” said Sheena Savdhria, 22.

Savdhria is an intern at the Homeless Prenatal Program and said she is excited to be able to see the other end of giving when children receive their brand new books and pajamas.

“To get new things for the holiday—it’s something to make them feel special,” she said.

The three agencies chosen this year are the Homeless Prenatal Program, the Cameron House, and the Hamilton Family Center.

The goal of the class was to stay within San Francisco.

The Homeless Prenatal Program focuses on mothers and their children. The Mission district-based organization works with families to help them realize the potential to break through the cycle of poverty.

The Cameron House is a Chinatown-based organization, formerly an Asian women’s shelter in 1874, but has now expanded its mission to sheltering children and women that have been victims of domestic violence.

The Hamilton Family Center, located in Haight-Ashbury, provides food, shelter, and support for families who have been marginalized. The organization also offers support in helping create a positive future.

Senior Diane Lopez, 48, suggested the book and pajamas idea after watching an episode of Oprah, which featured a segment called “Changing the World.” She pitched the idea during a brainstorming session for a class project early in the semester.

Before implementing the program at SF State, Lopez tested the idea at her son’s school, Allen Elementary School in San Bruno, in early October. She considered it a hit.

“[Our class] decided as a group that it would be nice to cover agencies that our social work program is affiliated with,” said Lopez. “So the agencies we chose are some where our classmates intern.”

When the project launched at SF State, students of the Urban Studies/Social Work 456 class worked together to outreach in the community and on campus.

Last Thursday, the social work class was pleasantly surprised at the reactions they had received and the amount of donations collected.

“As we’ve done the outreach to the different buildings and the different departments, they’ve seemed to be pretty excited about it,” said Lopez, as she sorted through piles of books and pajamas.

Many students ventured beyond campus and into the surrounding community to promote awareness of their project.

“Community organizing is a lot easier than people think,” said senior Kristina Melendez, 23, a student in the social work class. “It seems like a far-off thing for many people, but actually mobilizing everybody to do this was a lot easier than we expected.”

Melendez and others were initially unsure of the turnout and potential of the project, because many people are unwilling to talk to solicitors.

Therefore, Melendez said she focused on “mom-and-pop shops,” as opposed to larger corporations, because they “were very willing to help."

Donations of money were given to the class to buy more supplies, as well. And, according to Melendez, the generosity and support this project received continued to grow as students reached out to their peers.

Rebeca Ishii, 45, obtained 11 boxes of children’s books from her classmate Robert Stone, who works for Concord’s Half Price Books, which carries used books, music, movies and games.

“It’s how it works at Half Price Books,” said Stone, 23, who decided to donate to the drive after having a casual conversation with Ishii in class. “We buy books in excess and regularly look for organizations that need donations.”

Students like Ishii were able to gather resources quickly, filling up large blue bins on campus with books and pajamas. But others, like Casey Chang, said they had a difficult time getting support.

Chang contributed to the project as a member of the donation’s committee where they focused on outreach to big corporations. Not one company responded.

“There was not much luck,” said Chang, 26. “It was disappointing.”

Regardless, the class was able to fill the room they used as storage during the drive with donations that lined the walls and covered tables.

After the class collected all of the donations, they sorted appropriate books and pajamas to each age group and organization that the items were to be distributed to.

“Kids with problems don’t sleep well, let alone have sweet dreams,” Hines said. “After all that they are put through, a lot of them don’t have a good night sleep at all.”