Auburndale, MA The Village Bank in Wayland will sponsor its third annual Warm Winter Wishes gift drive to benefit local homeless families served by Family Promise Metrowest. The bank invites customers, friends, and neighbors to stop by the Wayland branch at 62 Boston Post Rd. with a donation of new winter hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, or warm socks for adults and children through December 15.

Based in Natick, Family Promise Metrowest is a cooperative, interfaith partnership offering hope to homeless families with children through safe transitional shelter, meals, and supportive case management as they seek permanent housing. Host congregations, including several in Wayland, and local volunteers furnish families in the program with temporary shelter and meals on a rotating basis. Professional staff members assist the families in reaching established goals designed to end the cycle of homelessness.

“The families supported by Family Promise Metrowest are determined to achieve their independence,” said Joseph De Vito, president and CEO of The Village Bank. “We hope that the community will join us in extending Warm Winter Wishes to support them on their journey.”

The Village Bank, chartered by the state in 1910, has seven full-service offices in Newton and Wayland and a Village Loan Center in Auburndale.