32 / matters magazine / holiday 2018 to be onsite at each of the elementary schools in the district. So she wrote a proposal to establish an internship pro- gram that enabled graduate students in social work to perform their fieldwork in all the district’s elementary schools. Ralph Lieber, who was the superinten- dent at the time, accepted the proposal and established Weiland as the super- visor of the Elementary School Social Work Internship Program. During the first year of the pro- gram, an intern told Weiland that she and her husband had de- cided not to give each other gifts that year. “In- stead, they were going to spend their money on giving gifts to the kids on her case- load who really were in need,” says Weiland. “I told her that there’s no way on earth that I’d let her do that. And we decided to have a full-fledged holiday toy drive.” Gibbons lauds the high school stu- dent volunteers who are instrumental in selecting, preparing and executing the gift lists for the elementary school students. “Not only do they do the shopping, collecting, and managing the donation boxes, we have them do- ing focus groups,” she says. Both Gib- bons and Weiland point out that the high school volunteers are able to find out what holiday gifts will be the most exciting for the young recipients. “The high school kids are much cooler than we are,” Weiland confesses. Leading up to the toy drive, vol- unteers place donation boxes in busi- nesses, schools, and houses of worship throughout South Orange and Maple- wood. “You can also donate online at a GoFundMe page or our Amazon wish list,” says Weiland. “We have pre- schools who use it as part of their tra- dition of teaching preschoolers how to give. We know that teaching our kids to give is as important as being able to give to those in need. Gibbons credits local businesses that play a vital role in the collection process. “Floor space of a retail shop is valuable space,” she says. “This is the time when you’re making a lot of your sales. The fact that these local stores are willing to take up some of their space to allow us to collect...it’s very gener- ous of them. We want to promote and support those businesses.” After the volunteers finish their massive shopping spree of toy pur- chases, the Parenting Center becomes a well-oiled gift as- sembly machine. “The room is filled to your head,” Weiland says. “But it’s very organized. We really arrange it like it’s a bou- tique.” The delivery takes place when the kids aren’t home. “We give wrapping paper to the parents and they will do the wrapping themselves,” explains Weiland. “These gifts are meant to come from the par- ents. And kids know if their parents wrapped something or not.” “What is the definition of a community? How do you give in a way that’s respectful and loving and how to do you make sure nobody is left behind and everybody feels like they belong?” Thank you to our loyal customers for shopping local! Join us on social media to see all our new items for the holidays! 165 Maplewood Avenue Maplewood, NJ 07040 973-275-1658 HOLIDAY READY BASS FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC 491B Valley Street, Maplewood • 973-378-BASS (2277) • www.BassFamilyChiro.com DR. WAYNE BASS Treatment and Rehabilitation for Headaches • Neck Pain • Back Pain Sports/Gym-Related Injuries Disc Problems • Pinched Nerves Auto Injuries • Pregnancy-Related Aches MostInsurancePlansAccepted The Toy Drive generates all sorts of fun gifts for children. 179 Maplewood Avenue | Maplewood, NJ 07040 | 973-763-9500 My Squirrel Days with author Ellie Kemper Monday, December 3— 7:30 pm Tickets available at wordsbookstore.com