The Family Promise club is calling WHS to action this month as their drive approaches. The drive will run from Jan. 19 to Feb. 5. There will be a box outside the front office for the cleaning items to be dropped off.

Family Promise is a club that works with the organization Family Promise MetroWest who provides a home for homeless families. The organization works to help provide job opportunities, education and a safe space for the families to call their own.

“We have helped Family Promise MetroWest with a few of their fundraisers, and this will be our first fundraiser as a club,” club leader sophomore Elena Liu said.

Along with Liu and junior Maeve Myles’ passion to spread the awareness of homelessness to the Wayland community, past experiences of working with Family Promise sparked the inspiration of starting the club at WHS.

“In the past, we have volunteered at the annual walk in April, babysat kids and participated in drives and fundraisers that help homeless families,” Liu said.

The efforts of the students and their participation will truly decide the outcome of the drive.

“The goal of the cleaning supply drive is to get a lot of people to participate so we can collect a lot of supplies for the people who need help with getting them,” one of the club’s first members, junior Ariel Sousa said.

The drives are not yearly, but due to COVID-19, the drive is necessary this year with many families being low on supplies such as masks and disinfectants. The goal is to keep these families safe by offering the necessary supplies.

“We need face masks [cloth or disposable], disinfectants [bleach, Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, rubbing alcohol], paper towels and Tylenol [or other brands],” Myles said.

The pandemic has made the drive crucial for many families that struggle with supplies. Therefore, the club emphasizes the importance of donating to support these families right now.

“Our main goal is to help the organization and families as much as possible,” Myles said. “[COVID-19] has made it increasingly hard for the parents to find work and has put enormous stress on the kids.”