Christmas cards are outnumbering requests for donations at our house so far this holiday season, but it’s a pretty close race.

Local organizations have also hit up The Swellesley Report to pass along requests to people to consider making charitable donations before year-end:

* Wellesley Friendly Aid is pleased to announce that its annual fundraising campaign is underway.

Friendly Aid’s annual campaign is the single, largest source of funding supporting its many programs helping Wellesley residents and families.

Among these programs, Friendly Aid provides needed financial aid to Wellesley families experiencing emergency or hardship situations. We fund scholarships to send children of Wellesley families in need to summer camp and summer educational enrichment programs and provide food vouchers to low income families for the holidays.

Please be as generous as you can in supporting Friendly Aid’s Annual Appeal.

For more information or to donate online, visit our website at wellesleyfriendlyaid.org or call 781-235-3960.

Peter Johannsen, President, Wellesley Friendly Aid

(Another way to contribute to Wellesley Friendly Aid is to support Scott Spencer, a resident of Katy, TX who will be running the 2015 Boston Marathon to raise money for Wellesley Friendly Aid. Spencer, who has run the marathon 9 times, has extended family who are Wellesley residents and says “Wellesley offers the best and most enthusiastic support on the course”. )

* The Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) is proud to announce its annual Board of Directors’ Holiday Matching Gift Challenge. This season, WEF’s board members have aggregately collected $20,000 to be able to offer to local education supporters a dollar-for-dollar match for every donation made to WEF in December. Last year’s inaugural and pilot Challenge was so successful, resulting in nearly $40,000 in donations for WEF, that the Wellesley Education Foundation has incorporated this Holiday initiative into its annual plan.

The Wellesley Education Foundation board of directors is a working and governing board. The Holiday Matching Gift Challenge is an effective means for the WEF board to present to the community its deep commitment to the Wellesley Public Schools through both volunteered time and financial contributions. This year’s Challenge amount of $20,000 is an increase of over 10% from the amount collected last year.

For education supporters, the Challenge is credible way to show support for the Wellesley Public Schools through a donation whose impact will double through this matching gift program.

Additionally, donations are tax deductible – another bonus for donors.

Through the Wellesley Education Foundation, over $1.6 million has been awarded in grants and assistance to educators in the past 10 years. In the recent past, WEF has funded and championed numerous WPS projects and initiatives including: 1:1 Technology Initiative launch at 7 elementary schools and WMS; Electricity curriculum enhancement for WMS; Leveled Literacy Intervention kits for elementary schools; Keyboards for WHS music department; 10 Mindstorms NXT robot kits for WHS computer science classes; Expansion of Shakespeare curriculum for WMS; and more.