CandyCare celebrates 20 years of doing something ‘sweet’ for homeless
MARPLE » CandyCare is celebrating its 20th anniversary of collecting Halloween candy which for distribution to Life Center Shelters and other local food pantries and neighborhood food banks. The volunteer organization has rescued thousands of pounds of surplus Halloween candy through donations from students, stores, businesses and community organizations during its two decades of collection drives.
Candy for the 2017 drive can be dropped off at Marple Public Library, 2599 Sproul Road, Broomall, or at St. Luke’s Greek Church, 35 N. Malin Road, Broomall.
“Through CandyCare, children can be taught that instead of counting how many candies they received this Halloween while trickor-treating, they can count how many candies — and smiles — that they will give to others,” said founder and organizer Patti Bruno.
“During our annual Halloween candy drive, we provide thousands of pounds of leftover and surplus Halloween candy to hungry and struggling people living on the streets or in shelters and to those kids in the shelters, who because of life’s tough circumstances did not have the ability to go trick-or-treating,” said Bruno. “We do this with respect, compassion and Christian love.”
CandyCare was founded by Bruno in 1998 when her daughter Gabrielle was in first grade at St. Anastasia School, Newtown Square. Every month, the school had service projects for the students, one of which was to collect leftover Halloween candy to give to the homeless. That service project struck a chord with Bruno.
“This was something that kids could easily do. It was something tangible, not just throwing money at a problem. It gave the kids a sense that trick-or-treating was their job and the candy was their pay,” she said. “They could decide to give up some of their very own candy to help someone else. It made them feel like they were making a difference in someone’s life.”
During the drive’s first year, 200 pounds of candy were collected and given to St. John’s Hospice, a homeless shelter in Philadelphia that feeds 400-500 men a day. “The director of the shelter was so appreciative of the candy,” Bruno said. “When most people think of giving food to shelters, it’s something like a casserole, but these are people who like candy just like everybody else.”
Through the years, as Patti’s daughter moved on to other schools, the tradition of collecting Halloween candy for those who are homeless went with her and spread. Everyone from private to parochial to nursery to high schools participated.
“Every time we introduced the project to a new group there was much enthusiasm,” Bruno said. “Some children would send their entire Halloween bags with a written note saying, ‘I don’t need this candy.’”
CandyCare started with children giving to children, but over time it more schools and other locations, bringing in candy for homeless people in Philadelphia, Chester and other towns.
The drive has grown from 200 pounds of candy in its inaugural year to 5,588 pounds in 2016. In addition to school collections, candy now comes from retail stores, health clubs, churches, businesses, hair salons, medical offices, scouting troops, skating clubs, swim clubs, Bible study groups, and neighborhood drives. Often supermarkets and drug stores — who must get rid of unsold Halloween candy — donate to CandyCare.
“CandyCare’s motivation is simply to help those who have less, especially the little children living in shelters,” said Bruno. “This is one charitable act that is so easy to do. Homeless people get lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, casseroles and packaged dinners, but candy rarely makes it to their plates. This is what CandyCare is all about.”
For information, call Bruno at 610-416-8336.