Halloween chocolate bars were delivered to Heritage Elementary School by the Huntingdon Optimist Club PHOTO Huntingdon Optimist Club
For the first time in 20 years, the members of the Huntingdon Optimist Club were not able to hand out candy to local children on Halloween due to concerns over the pandemic and safety measures in place. But that doesn’t mean local kids did not get their treat.
Members of the Optimist Club delivered chocolate bars to Heritage Elementary School and École Notre-Dame in Huntingdon as well as Franklin Elementary School to be distributed to each student, with a few leftovers for staff and teachers too. The chocolate was packaged on Friday, Oct. 23, and then delivered to the schools on the following Monday to ensure the candy would not be contaminated. The schools then quarantined the boxes of chocolate until they could be safely distributed during the week to students. “We knew some kids were not going out this year, so at least we were able to give them something,” says Nathalie Taillefer, the co-president of the Optimist Club.
Now that Halloween is over, the Club would normally start planning for its November fundraiser and the annual Christmas Parade, however this year things are different. The annual sale of fruitcake will go on, but “all the big fundraisers are down,” says Taillefer. As for the Christmas parade and gift distribution, “we don’t know how to do it,” she laments, while acknowledging that the need for such an activity may be even greater than usual this year. “We will have to figure something out,” she says. In the meantime, the Optimist Club is accepting donations to be able to continue its work to provide for local children.
(SR)