![The Wayland Police Department have issued a warning on the rise of scammers during the holiday season. “Hang up [the phone]. if you get a text and you do not know who it's from, just delete it. Don't click on any links, nothing,” Wayland police chief Edward Burman said. “Every single one of them is a scam.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/img_0954_720-e1734676255647.jpg)
![WHS’s Connect Program ran its annual holiday gift drive to fulfill the wishlist of children enrolled in the Dorchester based non-profit daycare organization, the Yawkey Center. This drive brought the town together and impacted both the students in Connect, as well as the greater Wayland community. “You could see how helpful the town was and how our community came together and wanted to help out a community that wasn't our own [and] kids who were less fortunate than we were,” senior and Connect Program member Jordynn Lee said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/screenshot_2024-12-20_at_12.21.24___pm_720-e1734734228474.png)
Every holiday season, Wayland hosts a variety of drives around the community to help those in need. This year, multiple drives took place all around town at multiple different schools. These drives were led by different groups and were targeted towards different people in need.
Connect Toy Drive:
The Connect Toy Drive took place on Dec. 12, 2024, when WHS Connect students brought dozens of toys to the Yawkey Center in Boston. The Yawkey Center is a preschool for children who need support in getting an education or childcare. This year, an Amazon wishlist was sent out with all of the children’s needs and requests where people could directly order things to donate. The seniors in the Connect Program then wrapped all of the gifts and brought them to the Yawkey Center where they spent the day interacting with the kids in whatever ways needed.
“It’s really fulfilling to see this incredible response from our Wayland community,” WHS Connect Program teacher Erin Lehmann said. “[I love] knowing that all these kids are gonna have a really good Christmas morning that they might not have otherwise had.”
Project 351 Food Drive:
The Wayland branch of Project 351 is a youth-led non-profit organization that encourages kids to help out in their communities. Freshman Wayland resident, Mia Koopersmith, is the Wayland ambassador of Project 351. This winter, between Dec. 3, 2024 and Dec. 17, 2024 there were multiple boxes set up at different schools where people could donate non-perishable items to go to a local food pantry in Wayland. People were also able to directly donate money online.
“I love community service because you can do the smallest thing and it’s still helping someone,” Koopersmith said.
Loker Pajama Drive:
Loker Elementary School had its 10th annual pajama drive this year. Spearheaded by local middle school parent Giselle Shardlow, local families were able to donate pajamas via bins in the lobby to help children in need from Chelsea Public Schools. Every year, Loker collects around 750 pairs of pajamas for families in need. On top of this, Loker also has a “sponsor-a-child” program where families can buy items off a child’s wishlist to give to them.
“Every year our lobby and music room, where we store [the items], are just flooded with gifts and it really just shows the kindness of our local community,” Loker Principal Brian Jones said.
The drives are a crucial part of the holiday season as they demonstrate the generosity of the Wayland community. Holidays can be a difficult time for some families who are less fortunate than others and it is always great to help anyone in need. Wayland is generally a very fortunate and wealthy town, so it is important for members of the community to give back in any way they can.
“Thank you to all the people who donated so generously and supported our work in the program,” Lehmann said.
