All the trick-or-treaters have come and gone and somehow you still have a small mountain of candy in your house. Add to that the stash your kiddos scored on the big night, and you’ve got enough sweets to feed an army. So guess what? This year, ditch some of that candy and literally feed an army (or Navy, or Airforce…). Check out a few nation-wide operations that take all that sweet stuff and send it to American troops around the globe.
Kool Smiles Dentistry Troop TreatsÂ
Located in 16 states across the country (click here to see if there is one near you) teams of dentists want you to bring your candy in. Kool Smiles Troop Treats program is teaming up with Operation Gratitude between Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 to make sure your sweets hit the tummies of our men and women in service. Just find your local spot and make the drop, they’ll take care of the rest.
Halloween Candy Give-Back with Operation Gratitude
Start by doing a search on Operation Gratitude’s site here to find the nearest a candy give-back spot.
If you can’t find a convenient location near you, or you want to organize your own at your child’s school or local community center, you can mail in the treats to Operation Gratitude and they will send them to the troops for you. Here are the do’s and don’ts:
Candy must be received by Nov. 9, 2018
Operation Gratitude
Attn: Halloween Candy Program
21100 Lassen Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311-4278
Line your boxes with big bags to ship loose candy or put candy in sealed Ziploc-style bags.
You can also include donations of individually wrapped toothbrushes, dental floss, and toothpaste (1 oz.) but make sure they are separated.
Separate out hand-written thank you letters from candy to ensure they are not ruined in shipment (place in an envelope or separate plastic bag).
Fill out the Donation Form and include the amount of candy, how many toothbrushes, etc., you are shipping.
Halloween Candy Buy Back with Operation Shoebox
This program offers hundreds of additional locations where you can ditch the candy for cash, prizes, and donations to our troops! Search here to find the one nearest to you.
—Amber Guetebier
photo:Â Jim Voorhies via flickr
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