With a spark of childhood joy, 8-year-old Enzo Vincent has turned a room in his family’s business, Absolute Health Chiropractic in Camden, into a “kingdom of pajamas.”

And none of them are for him or his 5-year-old sister Livia.

Every year on Thanksgiving, his parents would gift their children a new pair of new pajamas in preparation for the colder season. Three years ago, Enzo decided to turn that gift into love for others.

“The pajamas always make me feel warm and loved. There are many children that don’t know what that feels like,” he told wrestlers at CR High School last week when he asked for their support for Enzo’s Pajama Drive for Hope.

“When I was 5, I told mom that I wished every child could have new pair of pajamas. I wanted to give children in need a sense of hope. It brings me much happiness to watch the children open their new pajamas. I can see it on their faces that they feel the same way I do when I open mine.”

Enzo’s mom, Danielle, said she and her husband Joe weren’t sure about the task at hand at first. But, decided to go with it and see where Enzo’s dream took him.

They started collecting pajamas as a family. His dream quickly got too big and they started asking for the community’s help. He went on to earn a Jefferson Award this year, nominated by Mayor Robin R. Christiansen of Dover.

“It was my honor to award Enzo with this as well as to see him win the Jefferson Awards LEAD360 Outstanding Student Led Service Project in April. Through this project, Enzo has helped provide pajamas to young boys and girls in need during the Christmas season,” Mayor Christiansen posted to Facebook as he encouraged the community to donate to Enzo’s Pajama Drive for Hope.

Driven to service

A pajama drive wasn’t the first of Enzo’s philanthropic efforts, according to his parents.

“He’s done pretty special things for a long time, this he just did on his own. Like, he would bring books to the NICU. And every birthday since he was like 3, he does something for someone else on his birthday. He once gave a birthday party to homeless men at a shelter. Everything he does is for the good of others, so we rarely tell him no,” Mrs. Vincent said.

“His real true dream is to build homes for homeless people, people who don’t have homes or are just lost. That’s what he wants to do. When he learned about homeless people, he wanted to buy matresses and we told him we couldn’t do that. Being so small, we have to say he can’t build homes for the homeless, either. But every year, he says he’s getting one step closer.”

Pajamas were just the right size for the Holy Cross student to tackle.

His goal went from the family collecting pajamas for children in need to helping the community collect 500.

When faced with dismay from his parents, Enzo said, “Mom, if you don’t believe, nothing’s going to happen.”

His goal was achieved with flying colors. Last year, they collected more than 1,000 pairs of new pajamas. This year, Enzo hopes to collect 3,000 – 1,000 for each county in Delaware.

The wrestling team at CR High School helped Enzo’s cause last year, according to oach Dan Rigby.

“When I heard his story, I knew we had to get involved. Last year, we were able to collect over 100 pairs of pajamas. We’re hoping to do that again this year. I was just so surprised when kids would come in with an armful of pajamas,” he said.

Other community groups have joined Enzo’s Pajama Drive for Hope like Lake Forest School District, Tatiana Akinfieva Dance Academy in Milford, Faw Casson, Continental Jewelers in Wilmington, Delaware Guitar School in Camden, Del-One Federal Credit Union, Harrington Senior Center, Hello Gorgeous in Camden, PNC Bank in downtown Dover and Tile Market of Delaware.

Piazza Mia in Camden will give 10 percent off to customers who bring in a pair of pajamas Monday, Dec. 10. Big Fish Grill in Rehoboth Beach will also offer 10 percent off to customers who bring in pajamas from now through Tuesday, Dec. 18.

“He’ll tell anybody who will listen to him that we’re all God’s children and the children depend on him. He’s taught us probably a whole lot more than we’ve taught him,” Mrs. Vincent said.

“He recently told me he wants to provide water to the thirsty, food to the hungry and love to the ones who are lonely. Now that he’s older, he understands that we don’t have the money to go build homes yet. But I know he will eventually. He’s not going to lose how he feels about people. He sees the good in people. He genuinely cares about people. I feel like he already knows that if you have what you need, you should be sharing it. And the community is helping him do that.”

Enzo’s Pajama Drive for Hope can be reached by calling 302-745-4996 or e-mailing pajamasforhope@yahoo.com. Pajamas can also be mailed to or dropped of at 301 E. Camden Wyoming Ave., Camden, DE, 19934.