Like it’s not bad enough that my kids toooootally ignored the extra hour of sleep thing this morning, they also started their day (at 6:20 AM) by plunging headfirst into the piles of candy. We told them they could pick 7 pieces of candy to keep, and the rest of their Halloween hoard — or at least the leftover candy daddy doesn’t steal — they’re donating.
Our associate editor Christina just turned us onto some great options for Halloween candy donation, and we thought we’d add a few more to the list:
Operation Gratitude
Operation Gratitude sends care packages to our troops overseas, and your gummy bears and mini Snickers are more than welcome, especially when your kids include a nice letter of support too. You just pay to ship to California, but an extra $11 donation covers overseas postage. But keep in mind the non-melty stuff is best, or if you send chocolate, you might want to put it in a Ziploc first.
Any Soldier
This service will also let you donate candy, and you can even specify which armed service branch, if you have a preference. But that’s too hard for us -we like them all. Another similar option is Operation Shoebox.
Ronald McDonald House Charities
They do so much for kids, including accepting candy donation for them. You can search for a local branch here.
Local shops
Browse your neighborhood and you may find programs like Magic Beans does around Boston – they’ll donate your candy to the USO, and in
exchange give you a coupon for 25% off a new toy. (Hopefully not a candy toy.) Here’s a list of their store locations.
Food pantries, pediatric wards and nursing homes
They’re all happy to be able to give out a treat along with the meals. In New York, I’m a fan of programs like Citymeals-on-Wheels and God’s Love We Deliver.
Churches, synagogues and other places of worship
Finally, your local place of worship us likely to have candy drop-offs, if not to donate then at least to hand out to the kids. Better theirs than yours maybe?
[thanks christina! photo: bellahope]
