2026 Project 351 ambassadors from Gateway Regional. Parker McLaughlin of Blandford, Leah Boyer from Huntington, Ava Christie from Russell, Ella DeGregorio from Montgomery, Haylee Hussey from Middlefield and Project 351 coordinator Hannah Sullivan at the Faneuil Hall kickoff on Jan. 17.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
HUNTINGTON — On Saturday, Jan. 17, five Gateway Regional students joined eighth graders from across the commonwealth to begin their year as 2026 Project 351 ambassadors.
“They spent the day in service of others, had the opportunity to connect with students from across the state and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King,” said Gateway eighth-grade teacher and Project 351 Coordinator Hannah Sullivan.
Project 351 is a program started under then-Gov. Deval Patrick in 2011 as a movement of hope-in-action, bringing together eighth graders from every city and town in the commonwealth to unite as one “community in service” for causes greater than themselves.
Representing Gateway this year are Leah Boyer from Huntington, Ava Christie from Russell, Ella DeGregorio from Montgomery, Haylee Hussey from Middlefield and Parker McLaughlin from Blandford.
Sullivan, who has been leading the Project 351 effort at Gateway since 2014, said the students are selected by the eighth-grade team and invited to join the community service effort.
Asked why they wanted to join, McLaughlin said, “Because I wanted to help people.”
“I thought it would be a good experience,” said Boyer, with Christie adding, “It seemed fun.”
The group had a busy day. “We started the day in Faneuil Hall as a whole group — all ambassadors and alumni from across the state. Then, for the afternoon, Haylee and Parker went to Cradles to Crayons in Newton, and Leah, Ava, Ella, and myself went to IBEW 103 in Dorchester, where different charitable organizations had sent up stations,” Sullivan said.
She said ambassadors also went to a third service site at La Collaborative, and all afternoon, they assembled hygiene kits and meal kits at the three different sites.
“It was really cool. We helped a lot of people, like 25,000,” said DeGregorio, which is the number of people who were impacted through the work of the ambassadors that day.
At the end of the day, the entire group of about 400 ambassadors reconvened at the JFK Memorial Library for a ceremony and party.
“Larger cities have the opportunity to bring more than one student. The party at the end was at the JFK Memorial Library. They had an opportunity to meet all the kids who joined,” said Sullivan.
“The party afterwards was fun,” said Christie.
“We met a lot of people. We’re in a big Project 351 group chat — there’s like 100 kids in it,” DeGregorio said.
The Gateway group also brought home a box of hygiene kits and meal kits assembled by ambassadors from across the state that were donated to the Gateway Free Store.
All but Hussey said this was their first experience doing community service. “I helped with community soccer programs, but that’s it,” she said.
Sullivan said the next step for the group is a spring service project. “Project 351 students typically support Cradles to Crayons, a statewide organization. We have always supported It Takes a Village and its store within the school for the spring service project,” she said, adding that there is another service project in the fall, when the Project 351 students do a 9/11 tribute and collect food. She said the fall project is run by the high school.
Asked what she likes best about Project 351, Sullivan said, “I think it gives ambassadors the chance to meet other students across the state, and they get to help the commonwealth at the same time. It broadens their worldviews.”
