The Huss parking lot was filled with 28 cars on Oct. 13, lined up and decorated with ribbons, balloons, props, banners, colorful signs and blow up archways and props. MS and LS students dressed in their Halloween costumes walked the rows, collecting candy from each of the cars, filling up their candy buckets. With temperatures of 52 degrees Fahrenheit, many people were bundled up in a jacket. Along with some people sitting around a warm bonfire, roasting marshmallows.
While Trunk or Treat is not new, it was the first time our school has participated in this event and the first time it was a sophomore service event. The sophomore class advisor, Kristen Piehl, came up with the idea and got the sophomores excited to be a part of this event. She saw the need to help the sophomore class come up with new ways to give back and build community.
Sophomores participated in this event to help contribute to creating a safer way to celebrate Halloween, “it is a controlled environment and it is also an environment that is controlled by our community so you don’t have the ‘stranger danger’ effect” Piehl said.
This event also gave the sophomores a chance to connect while earning two hours of volunteer time towards their 10 hour requirement.
The event was put on by the 10th grade class and 10th grade MUSPA reps, and was able to happen because of their hard work.
Sophomore Peony Steele who participated in the event said; “I’m excited to participate in this event with my friends and to hand out candy to the kids.”
Students attending also left items behind: the event encouraged trick-or-treaters to bring in non-perishable food items, such as cans of soup or boxes of cereal. The food was collected by Melissa Peltier, one of the hosts of the Trunk or Treat event. She delivered the donations to the Keystone Community Food Center in St. Paul after the event, “This organization was picked because it served our local community and has a track record for helping youth, families and the elderly in need of a hand.” said Peltier.
With how many people turned up, there ended up being a car full of food, which was collected and donated to Keystone. Keystone is a community service that strives to help as many people as they can who are struggling. One of the things Keystone does is try to ensure that everyone has the food they need.