Did you get stuck with a big bowl of leftover Halloween candy because you received fewer Trick-or-Treaters this year than you expected? Or perhaps you’re simply tired of being tempted to sneak a piece each time you walk by?
Whatever the reason, if you have unexpired, wrapped Halloween candy that you want to remove from your home you now have another option besides throwing it away. You can donate it to a cash-for-candy drive by taking it to the Saucon Valley Elementary School office by Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Thanks to Sparks Orthodontics’ Candy Buyback Program, the collected candy will be shipped to active-duty U.S. military personnel to enjoy, and the money that is raised from the buyback program will benefit an area charity: Operation Heroes, which is a project of the Berks County-based Jarett Yoder Foundation.
The foundation was established in memory of Jarett Yoder, a 26-year-old U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan on April 9, 2013.
One project of Operation Heroes are nine ‘Patriot Houses,’ which house homeless veterans. Another is a food pantry that serves veterans in need of assistance.
Local candy drive organizer and SVES PTO parent Lynn Beller explained that additional money to benefit the foundation will be raised on the elementary school’s second annual “Day of Change” on Friday, Nov. 9.
“We ask kids to bring in any loose change they may have (to add to the total),” she said.
Students are encouraged to wear red, white and blue on Nov. 9, which is when the elementary school’s annual Veterans Day program will be held.
The parents and grandparents of elementary students who have served in the Armed Forces are invited to attend the patriotic afternoon program, which helps students learn about the meaning of Veterans Day and what their own family members have sacrificed in service to the country.
