WESTFIELD — The Westfield Police Cadets and Westfield Police Department collected toys and gifts for hundreds of underprivileged Westfield Public School students on Dec. 11 in their annual toy drive.

Police Lt. Eric Hall said that the turnout for the seventh annual Police Cadet Toy Drive was high, despite the heavy rain throughout the day. The youth cadets were collecting toys and gifts for a record 310 students in Westfield schools, breaking last year’s record of 296.

Police Cadet Capt. Chris Gage, who is in his fourth year in the program, said that they had collected 44 full boxes of toys by about 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 11. He and a group of police cadets were gathered in front of Walmart on Springfield Road in Westfield. Other cadets and officers were standing outside of Dollar General and Five Below, gathering donations from people as they left each store. A moving trailer was needed to store many of the donations and keep them out of the rain.

The increase in students in need of donated gifts last year was believed to be a result of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that seems to have continued into late 2021.