Hundreds of children and families braved the rainy weather last weekend to visit us and pick out no-cost Halloween costumes at our annual costume giveaway on October 21. We invited the children served by the food pantry to browse a costume shop set up in our basement. It was wall-to-wall full of brand-new costumes, masks, and accessories, all donated by YOU, our generous community members.
For local families having trouble putting food on the table, “extras” such as Halloween costumes can seem out of reach. Our seasonal initiatives, like the Halloween costume distribution and our upcoming Help for the Holidays gift program, help ease these costs for South Shore families in need and bring joy to children in difficult situations.
Generous individuals and businesses donated hundreds of new Halloween costumes through our Halloween Costume Drive. We’d like to thank the Have a Sammi Kinda Day Fund for donating more than 100 new costumes and Saint Joseph Parish of Quincy and Radius Financial Group in Norwell for running costume drives at their organizations. The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation gave us a $1,000 grant that went toward purchasing costumes. And Stop & Shop donated hundreds of sugar pumpkins for children to take home.
Dozens of volunteers helped sort incoming donations, prepare for the event, and assisted clients during the costume distribution, including corporate volunteer groups from Arbella Insurance, CBERA, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
For more information about Interfaith’s holiday initiatives, please contact Seasonal Program Coordinator Natalie McMenamin at natalie@interfaithsocialservices.org.
