Santa Anita YMCA Collecting Halloween Candy From Kids To Ship To Troops
SANTA ANITA (CBSLA.com) — Santa Anita Family YMCA Friday is holding its fifth consecutive Candy Buy-Back event.
The YMCA will be collecting Halloween candy at various locations in Santa Anita from members and local elementary school students and will work with Operation Gratitude to ship it to more than 250,000 U.S. troops deployed around the world.
Every child will receive one raffle ticket for each pound of candy they turn in and will be entered to win a brand new bicycle that the YMCA will deliver to every participating elementary school.
"A child's global sugar consumption increases about two percent around Halloween, leading to hyperactivity, weight gain, cavities or worse," Cheryl Reynolds, Santa Anita Family YMCA's Development Director, said in a statement. "The fact that we're able to keep kids from eating unhealthy candy, while providing our troops with much-deserved sweet treats, is very fulfilling."
Approximately 2,000 pounds of candy was collected in 2012, and more than 100,000 care packages were mailed to troops around the globe.
For more information about the Candy Buy-Back, click here.
