KD Sunday Spotlight: Collecting Halloween costumes for kids in need in honor of Emma Munson
ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - Some families may not be able to afford Halloween costumes for their kids, but that's where the Emma Munson Foundation comes in!
The Munson family helps others in honor of their daughter, who passed away 10 years ago.
Emma Munson was a 19-year-old with a flair for life. She loved to act and sing, and she cared about the environment.
"She was very compassionate, she was an artist, she was a visual artist and a performing artist, so she was very creative and everybody who met her felt like she was extremely accepting, and people would come to her, and she was just incredible," said Denise Munson, who founded the Emma Munson Foundation with her husband.
Emma died tragically on October 6, 2013, while she was a freshman art student at VCU in Richmond, Virginia.
"When she passed away, we just thought her goal in life was to change the world," said Denise Munson.
Denise and Michael Munson took their daughter's inspiration and started a 501C3 nonprofit called the Emma Munson Foundation.
Every year, they collect new and used Halloween costumes to give to kids, so they can dress up as anything they'd like - whether that's their favorite superhero or a scary character.
"We were at a community center in Brighton Heights, Providence Connection, it's the first place that we started to work with as a foundation, and the director told us that some of the parents struggle financially to give their kids happy memories and Halloween costumes, a luxury, sometimes they just weren't in the budget... that's just not right," said Michael Munson.
Michael and Denise said it started with just 250 costumes and now it's the 7th year and people donate more than they can count.
"When we saw the reaction the first year, the joy on the kids' faces, and just the parents who came up to us and said thank you so much, I have extra money now this month," Denise Munson said.
It's a lot of work to pull this off. Businesses in the north hills put out collection bins.
Then they do their big sort. On Wednesday, volunteers organized the fun, spooky costumes and put treat bags together.
They'll host 10 pop-up distribution events at community care centers across the Pittsburgh area this month.
We attended one of their biggest distribution events in Braddock two years ago.
"Their eyes light up, sometimes it takes 3 or 4 or 5 costumes to get the right one but they walk away just feeling special, feeling great, feeling invisible. And it makes us feel the same way," said Michael Munson.
They also do things for the environment in honor of Emma, because she loved the earth.
Michael and Denise go up the coast of North Carolina for 12 days for their great NC beach sweep. Last year, they went to 42 beaches and collected 700 pounds of litter.
"When she saw litter, she would pick it up, she would encourage recycling, she would encourage sustainability," Michael Munson said about his daughter.
Tree planting is another big project. For the last 3 years, they've helped plant trees at the Flight 93 Memorial.
"It's just something about digging in the dirt and being connected with nature. I feel a deep connection with Emma at that time, it's just really beautiful and to go back a couple of years later and see that your seedlings have taken root," said Denise Munson.
They also give scholarships for the arts.
"Truly we feel like Emma guides these ideas. Something will come to us, and we'll say okay, I guess we're supposed to do this, or we'll meet someone and we're like 'Wow that was incredible.' So, we feel that she really guides us too and we just follow her lead," Denise Munson said. "We kind of just feel like doing this and we started doing things for other people. It was very therapeutic for us so we're honoring her and we're also healing ourselves," she said.
Making kids smile, with all the Halloween costumes is a reminder of their daughter and how much she loved making people feel special.
Michael and Denise will keep sharing that love with others and watch Emma make an impact on the world.
"When she got a moment, she'd sing like nobody's business, so we just celebrate those things, that she taught us and try to keep that alive. It makes our family continually remember she's not with us but she's with us," Michael Munson said. "I think a lot of us are inspired by a lot of different people, our lives are mosaics of all the people we've come in contact with, and I hope some people walk away thinking I want to be a little bit like Emma," he added.
The Emma Munson Foundation collects costumes all year long.
They would love more volunteers, especially to help with the 10 Halloween costume events that are planned for this October. To see the location and times and to sign up to volunteer on this website.
You can also keep up with all their great work on their Facebook page at this link.
If you would like to see an organization highlighted in KDKA's Sunday Spotlight segment, send Jessica Guay an email at jguay@kdka.com