In a move that most likely shocked their parents, a number of children in the Monadnock region gave up a portion of their Halloween candy on Wednesday morning, albeit for a good cause: the candy will be shipped to to soldiers overseas.
Students from Jaffrey Grade School, Rindge Memorial School, Highbridge Hill Elementary School, and Dublin Consolidated School all participated in a candy buy back program, which is sponsored by Monadnock Dental Associates of Jaffrey.
“My goal is to get as much candy out of the children’s hands as possible,” said dentist Zane Broome, who started the program six years ago. “The reason being is the additional candy can lead to obesity, cavities, diabetes, and other problems for the children down the road.”
In addition to donating the candy to Operation Gratitude, Broome said each student who donates candy is given a new toothbrush. At the end of the collection period, Broome says a dollar per pound of candy collected is donated to the school.
“With Veterans Day around the corner, we figured it would be a good way to connect the two,” said Broome.
One would think that the amount of candy collected would be relatively small, but Broome said last year 201 pounds was collected between the four schools.
“I think a lot of families limit the amount of candy their children can have, so this is a good way to go to a good cause,” said JGS principal Susan Shaw-Sarles.
Broome said donation boxes will be left at the schools for about a week, so people still have a chance to donate.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.