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Date: 2/3/2022
HAMPDEN/WLBRAHAM – The Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) transitional program hosts three charity events per year. The students, who range in age from 18 to 22 years old and have various cognitive and behavioral needs, will run their annual clothing drive this February.
Anthony Zaremba, a transitional teacher with the program, explained that the program, based at Thornton W. Burgess School, is designed to teach life skills to young adults with special needs.
The students put together a food drive in the fall, a car wash during the summer and the February clothing drive.
This is the second year the program has run a clothing drive.
“Last year went very well,” Zaremba said, adding 80 bags of clothing were donated. Of the three charity events last year, he said the clothing drive was the most successful. People continued to drop off donations even after the drive had ended.
The students researched organizations in the area that take clothing donations and decided on St. Jude’s Clothing Center in Holyoke, a program of Providence Ministries. The next step is making posters and flyers to hand out. This process allows the students to gain experience in marketing, art and social skills.
“Social skills are huge,” Zaremba said. He takes the students to the strip mall in Hampden and has them hand out flyers and ask businesses to display them. These skills have real-world applications, Zaremba said. “You’re going to work with people all the time you don’t know. It may be your boss or a coworker. Don’t be shy, just go up and say hello.”
This is Zaremba’s second year in the program. He said he has been impressed with what a “giving community” Hampden is. He said the drives let the students know that there are, “many agencies that will help you if you need help.”
The clothing drive will run from Feb. 7 through Feb. 18, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. No contact drop-off bins are available outside the front entrance of the school. Zaremba said the students get excited to check the bins every few hours. They tell him, “It feels good to help others.