Jammies for GIs gets national attention

KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) - It began as a simple way to help the troops and now, Jammies for GIs is about to shine in the national spotlight.

It kind of looks like a drug store, but it's actually a the storage room at Colvin Cleaners. Razors, deodorant and soap fill the tables, waiting to be put into boxes and shipped off to military hospitals overseas.

It is all part of the " Jammies for GIs " program and it all started with a military mom.

It was four years ago. Cheryl Lepsch got an overseas call from her son Jeremy, who was injured and taken to a hospital in Germany.

Cheryl Lepsch said, "He called me and said 'mom I don't know how we're still fighting a war, every half hour they're bringing in a bus full of wounded here.'"

So Cheryl went to work, collecting pajamas and other necessities for a long hospital stay.

Cheryl Lepsch said, "We started just collecting personal care items, new clothings, sock underwear, and then the USO contacted us. Other hospitals contacted us."

And even after Jeremy came home, the donations continued to go over.

United States Marine Jeremy Lepsch said, "I've seen this grow from a few phone cards, my mom and going and purchasing phone cards with her own money and now it's a huge charity."

It is a charity that's gotten the attention of a television show.

"Heroes Among Us" is shooting an episode in western New York, spotlighting Cheryl and the charity she started.

"Heroes Among Us" Producer Steve Jarczak said, "We really get to showcase how people are doing positive things all over the country."

But Jammies for GIs is costly. Cheryl says it costs $550 to mail ten boxes just to Hawaii. The need for donations, she says, is dire, "So the need is never going to go away at this point."