Director’s Note

Chris with his wife Sarah and their 11-year-old twins.

I want to share an observation I had at a recent grocery outreach. But before I get there:

A common trend in my family during the summer is my kids in PJs. A couple times a week, my kids will spend their whole days in PJs. They do kid things: build Legos, read millions of books, help cook meals. They enjoy playing in our backyard or going to the library, in which case we will make them get dressed! However, on mellow summer days, it’s PJs. Sometimes they will drop me off at work, and they’ll be in PJs in the car. Most families probably have a similar dynamic, though before the ‘observation’, I hadn’t given this PJs trend much thought.

At the Mission, we have families lined up around 7 a.m. to get food we recover from grocery stores. These are usually mothers with their kiddos. Standing in the foggy cold morning air, with carts, coats, and hope, was a child about the age of my kids, in footie pajamas. That’s what we call them, but they also might be called onesies. They look a little silly on anyone not an infant, but they’re warm and comfortable. Seeing this child in his light blue spotted footie pajamas, sitting on the cold concrete, while his mother does what’s necessary to keep her family going, stirred a complex mix of emotions within me. The image felt intimate; something not meant for outside their home. Ironically, it felt both foreign and familiar. My kids have never stood outside the Mission waiting for food.

The truth is, a child in footie pajamas represents innocence, comfort, and the safety of home. For many of us, including my own children, it’s a symbol of carefree childhood mornings. But for this child, and countless others like him, those pajamas were simply their warm clothes for a cold, uncertain morning. They were his uniform for facing a reality no child should have to endure—the visible struggle for basic needs.

That image resonated deeply within me because it highlighted a universal truth—every parent, no matter their circumstances, wants the same thing for their children. They want them to be warm, fed, safe, and to know the simple joy of a day spent in comfy pajamas, free from the burdens of the adult world. This mother, bringing her child to our food line, wasn’t looking for a handout; she was simply doing everything in her power to provide that comfort and hope for her son. She was showing up, just like any parent would, to ensure her child had enough to eat.

This is the very essence of why Rescue Mission Alliance Central Coast exists. We are here to bridge that gap, to offer a helping hand so that more children can experience carefree mornings, and more parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing their family is fed and cared for. Your support directly impacts these families. It provides the food, the shelter, and the resources that allow a child to just be a child, even for a moment, in their footie pajamas. It allows parents to reclaim a bit of dignity and hope as they work toward a more stable future.

When you support the Mission, you’re not just giving food or shelter, you’re helping us create a community where every child has the chance to know what it feels like to be truly safe and warm, even if it’s just for a day spent in their favorite PJs.

Sincerely,
Chris Rutledge
Director of RMA CC