LEAD THE WAY makes an impact this holiday season
When it comes to serving Williamstown, a group stands out as the voice to help those in need. That group is known as LEAD THE WAY.
Started by Scott Whyte and Deb DeFelice, the group of volunteers serves the community and school district as it’s needed.
“What we are is a group of volunteers. We get involved in the community and school district,” Whyte said. “When there’s a need for help with a student, the school district will reach out to me and I’ll reach out to volunteers to find a way to help that student and family.”
This holiday season, LEAD THE WAY impacted the lives of more than 80 kids in the school district.
“I put something on Facebook looking for sponsors and 60 people stepped forward to be a ‘Secret Santa’ and go shopping for the kids,” Whyte said.
As 2018 came to a close, Whyte reflected on the year, saying LEAD THE WAY recently became a 5013c nonprofit, has business sponsors and bought a van to make deliveries. Then, he discussed the future of the organization.
“In 2019, we’re looking to get more involved with big corporate sponsors to start helping more in the district,” he said.
This year they were able to get food pantries in the middle and high schools so less fortunate kids can get food for the night. They can even get food for the weekend if they go on a Friday.
“Hopefully, we can set up some kind of backpack program to start feeding all of the homeless kids in the community,” Whyte added. “We’re between 40–50 homeless students in the district, not including younger siblings. We want to make sure they’re fed. That’s a big goal for the coming year.”
Having ambitious goals like Whyte mentioned is easy when there’s an entire community in support of your message.
“As we get more visible, more people are getting involved,” he said.
Whyte said the group grew this year, saying more and more people came to its meetings. The positivity the group created is contagious.
“People want to donate and help but never knew where to go, and now they have an outlet to come and be a part of something.”
People joining the fight for the underprivileged is only half the battle, Whyte thanked the businesses and families that supported them as well.
“Without them we’re nothing,” Whyte said. “We’re not LEAD THE WAY without support from the businesses and families.”
For those looking to get involved with the group in 2019, LEAD THE WAY is always looking for help. Whyte can be reached at (856) 466–1777 or on Facebook at LEAD THE WAY.
