Wayland Patch 1/10/11: Residents Imagine Warmer Days for a Good Cause. About 150 people donned leis, bikini-printed T-shirts and other resort gear for the second Wayland Pool Party at Sandy Burr Country Club. The fundraiser for the Wayland Community Pool featured a silent auction and music provided by the Wayland Daddios. Jeanne Downs, chair of the pool party planning committee, estimated that the fundraiser brought in between $35,000 and $40,000. That money will be used to continue paying for the Wayland Town Pool, which opened in December. At this time, there are no more official fundraiser events planned, but Downs said individuals can always contribute to the project at the Pool's website. People with donation questions can contact Ben Downs.

Boston Globe 12/2/10: Wayland’s dive into community pool fund-raising comes up a success. With two perennial state-championship swimming teams at Wayland High School, town residents know well the successes that can result from having a community pool. But with public funding for new pools nearly nonexistent, residents also knew they would have to be creative if they wanted to replace the town’s aging, money-losing facility, which had limited access for several years before being closed last spring. A local nonprofit group offered to build a new pool at the same site, next to the high school, using private funds that it would be in charge of raising. "There’s a strong heritage of swimming here in Wayland," said Ben Downs, chairman of Wayland Community Pool Inc., which formed under a different name in 2004 when it became apparent the town could not afford to maintain the old pool. On Saturday, a 12:15 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony will officially open its larger replacement, a $2.5 million, 10-lane pool with a removable bubble roof for summer use. About $1.6 million was covered by donations and labor contributions, with the remainder from a loan backed by the US Department of Agriculture.

PHOTO GALLERY: Partying down and helping Wayland Community Pool. Wayland residents came out of hibernation on January 9 to attend the Wayland Community Pool’s fundraising event at Sandy Burr Country Club. The party was held to raise money for the new pool and create awareness of the ongoing fundraising goal for the $2.5 million project. Approximately $1.5 million has been raised to date through private donations, leaving $1 million left to be raised. Over 300 tickets were sold in advance to both new and long-term supporters of Wayland aquatics. Ticket sales brought in over $25,000, while the raffle and live auction grossed over $20,000. The current Town Pool is scheduled for demolition this March to make way for the construction of the new pool. To make a donation visit the Wayland Community Pool website. Donations can be pledged and made over a three-year period. Cash, stock or in-kind services are accepted. Donations are tax-deductible.

Wayland Town Crier 9/17/09: Town pool efforts continue in Wayland. The Wayland Community Pool group, a local nonprofit, has been working hard over the past…

Boston Globe 6/27/09: Local budget constraints keeping pools closed. This summer, with local budgets melting away, some communities are reluctantly closing popular public swimming sites…