Happy Halloween readers! I hope everyone is getting ready for a night full of fun and lots of candy. They say there is an age limit for trick or treating but I strongly disagree! I mean candy is great (in moderation before it hits you’re thighs or teeth obviously) but I am also talking about trick-or-treating for a good cause. Below I’ve mentioned just two ways you can help out on Halloween and have fun!
1. UNICEF
I remember when I was younger, the whole “UNICEF trick-or-treating” was a really big deal. Basically it is kids going door to door collecting spare change in homes that will be donated to UNICEF – a charity aimed towards helping children world wide. I don’t know if it is still popular, but it always puts a huge smile on my face when I see kids with the little orange boxes in hand. I think that’s a fair reason for anyone of any age to trick-or-treat…
2. Halloween For Hunger & Trick or Eat
Alright so these are my personal favorites. Both of these are aimed towards collecting non-perishable foods on the festive night (even after for a week!) that will be delivered to local food banks and shelters.
Hunger has always been an issue that bothers me and that is why I chose it as my platform. I am not only talking about hunger overseas, but the thousands of people in our very own backyard who can’t afford a meal. According to Food Banks Canada, over 850,000 Canadians used food banks for a meal which is the highest level of food bank use to date!
Both Free the Children and Meal Exchange have amazing programs that can are centralized around this idea of donating the non-perishable foods on Halloween. Free the Children’s Program is amazing and donated more than 600,000 lbs of food last year alone! To check it out, visit the side for Halloweeen For Hunger (click here). Meal Exchange’s program (“Trick or Eat”) doesn’t end until November 7th so check it out and see how you can help!! They accept donations online and you can even win 2 WestJet Tickets to fly anywhere you like in North America or the Caribbean! More information is on their website (http://trickoreat.ca/) and they even accept donations online.
It’s Never Too Late!!
I may be a little late on this post however, I want people to keep in mind that helping out these causes doesn’t necessarily have to be on a holiday. If you raid your kitchen cupboards (with your parents’ approval of course) and check out what you don’t use or what you think a family may need, simply put a bag together of the items you want to donate. To find a local food bank, you can use the website http://foodbankscanada.ca/. Remember, kindness can be at any point in the year and doesn’t always have to have a reason!
HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!