Every year after my kids and I come home from trick or treating we are exhausted. But the kids are not too exhausted to dump all the candy that they have just collected on the floor and revel in it. This is usually when I start to feel nauseated, either from all the candy I ate along the way or by the fact that my children now have at least 20 lbs. of candy at their disposal.
With the obesity epidemic we are experiencing in America, and type 2 diabetes on the increase, I always stop to wonder: why on earth do we do collect all this Halloween candy? Because it is soooooooo much fun! So until Trick-or-treating comes with a disclaimer I have decided that we are going to get the best of both worlds. We are going to dress up and freeze our bums off, collect the candy, bring it home and revel in it, and then here comes the fun part: DONATE IT!
The Halloween Candy Buy-Back Program also known as Halloween Candy Give-Back has collection sites all across America. One of our MA Insurance clients Tesini Pediatric Dentistry in Sudbury, MA is participating in this program. Here is the info from their Facebook Page:
“Bring your unopened candy to our office on Nov 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, or 10th and we’ll be sending it to “Operation Gratitude” to make care packages for our troops overseas. Our office will also be sending hundreds of toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste to include with the care packages.
Every patient that brings in candy will receive a Spinbrush and an entry into our drawing where you could win an iPod Shuffle! We’re also giving away a $50 iTunes gift card to the person that brings in the most candy!”
All the candy that is donated is put into care packages by Operation Gratitude. The care packages are then sent to our soldiers currently serving in the military. Last year Operation Gratitude shipped 125 tons of candy. Now that is something we can all feel good about.
If you would like to donate your candy this year you can visit their website and search for a drop off location near you: http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/index.html