The Hurffville Elementary School Future Acts Club packaged donated Halloween candy for first community service project of the year
Sugar fueled the early-morning energy level of members of the Hurffville Elementary School’s Future Acts club on Nov. 7, though none of the student-volunteers actually consumed any. Instead, the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders found themselves up to their elbows in Halloween candy that had been donated back to the school following obviously impressive trick-or-treating hauls. The students worked together to create individually packaged candy treat bags.
In their first community-service project of the year, the students shared sentiments about kindness in handcrafted notes and included them in the bags.
Working in conjunction with the Changing Our World Project at Washington Township High School and the middle schools’ Future Acts clubs, the bags will be distributed throughout the community to Ronald McDonald Houses, hospitals, veterans’ homes, senior centers and social service programs. The efforts are being duplicated in all six of the district’s elementary schools.
Notes by the students included, “You’re so sweet. Here’s a treat;” “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted;” “Roses are red. Violets are blue. All this sweet candy is just for you.”
“Our community obviously embraced the concept of donating candy back, and our students really enjoyed working on the project,” said Hurffville Future Acts club advisor Lynda Venuto of the 40 students who signed up to be a part of the community service club. “We brainstormed about the notes that we wanted to include. We hope that the notes and the treats bring a smile to someone’s face.”
The goal of the project was to receive more than 1,000 pounds of donated candy, enough to fill at least 3,000 bags for area recipients. If Hurffville is any indication, the project will be a sweet success.
