Donate Your Halloween Candy to Operation Gratitude!

Halloween is nearly upon us, and most of us are bursting at the seams to slip into a costume and scare the daylights out of the people brave enough to hand out candy. Our surrounding communities will be celebrating Halloween over the weekend and on Monday, the 31^st. After you return home and dig through your candy, consider making a pile to donate to soldiers overseas.

Operation Gratitude is a nationwide program that collects food and supplies from local residents to assemble into care packages and ship to servicemen and women currently deployed as well as those in the Wounded Warrior Project. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to take some of your extra candy (and not just the ones you won’t eat) and bring them to local businesses that are collecting for the cause.

One such business is Village Green Family Dentistry, located at 33 Indian Rock Road in Windham, N.H. Organized by Office Manager Kim Pajak, Village Green Family Dentistry will be collecting candy for its First Annual Candy Give Back on Tuesday, November 8 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. In addition to candy, the office will also be accepting new and sealed toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. They also greatly encourage donors to provide personal letters, cards or drawings of appreciation to attach to these care packages.

There are a number of ways to donate to Operation Gratitude. In addition to candy, the program also accepts Girl Scout Cookies, dry snacks like nuts and popcorn, toys such as Webkinz and Beanie Babies, and handmade crafts like scarves and bandanas. Monetary donations are also helpful to offset the cost of overseas postage. For a complete list of ways to support Operation Gratitude, please view the Individuals and Organizations Support page.

For those interested in donating at Village Green Family Dentistry, organizers have a special incentive: For every one pound of candy donated, a child will receive a Spinbrush, treat bag, and free dental screening! Give some of the candy you collect or what you don’t give away and be sure to help Operation Gratitude fill as many care packages as possible. For more information, please contact Kim Pajak of Village Green Family Dentistry at 603-552-3486. To learn more about Operation Gratitude, visit http://www.operationgratitude.com or call 1-262-OPGRAT-1.