Foster Hope Otago started its annual pyjama drive last week and had only received about 25 pairs by yesterday.
Traditionally, the charity would have collected a couple of hundred pairs by now, and about 1000 pairs are needed.
Drive co-ordinator Juanita Willems said the pyjamas were put in backpacks along with other essentials like socks, underwear, dressing gowns, toiletries and a blanket, and given to children going into foster care.
"Everything that’s in that pack means the carer won’t have to rush out and buy appropriate-sized clothes in the first 48 hours of them arriving.
"The idea is that it really covers that first couple of days and the child can get settled into the place that they’ve been put into.
"In a lot of cases, those kids arrive with just the clothes they are wearing."
Mrs Willems said they needed the public’s help more than ever at the moment because Covid-19 restrictions had prevented the charity from running the drive or fundraising events during the restrictions of the past two years.
Pyjamas were particularly important at this time of year because winter was just around the corner and the nights were getting much cooler.
They were needed for newborns, right through to 18-year-olds, for both gender styles, she said.
"Many of these kids have never had a new pair of pyjamas.
"We want these kids to feel like somebody cares about them, and unfortunately in a lot of cases, the second-hand pyjamas that we have been given in the past, have really not sent that message to the kids.
"So we are insisting on new pyjamas."
About 1500-1800 backpacks were given to foster children each year.
She said it was a lot, and the number was increasing because of Covid-19 and the increasing costs of living.
"It’s looking like it’s going to be another big year this year."
Mrs Willems said there were drop-off points around Otago and Southland, listed on the Foster Hope Otago Facebook page.
