This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.

The annual Pajama Day assembly on Jan. 17 was special for the Eagle Buddies of grades 3 and 10, who met at the lower school gym and shared some of their favorite books with one another. It was also a special day for Rishi Narain, grade 10, who started Harker’s pajama program while he was a student at the lower school.

The program collects and distributes pajamas, books and other goods to underprivileged children all around the world.

The Eagle Buddies program was started during the 2010-11 school year as a means of establishing a bond between the students of the lower and upper schools. The program matches up grade 3 students with grade 10 students, who then meet periodically until the sophomores graduate and the third graders move on to the middle school.