It started with a simple school project.

Lindale Middle School students Kaitlyn Howard and Jenni Rucker were asked to write an essay about a newspaper article. The classmates were surprised to learn they'd both chosen a story about a local charity that appeared last September in the Maryland Gazette.

The story about Kami's Jammies, which collects pajamas for critically ill children staying at area hospitals, inspired them to do something to help. At first, they wanted to pass out pajamas to young patients, but the 13-year-olds learned they had to be at least 16 to do that.

So they organized a schoolwide drive...