Pacifica Donates 280 lbs of Halloween Candy for Our Troops

In 2007, I took my 18 month old daughter trick-or-treating for the first time.  She had so much fun but I know that she did not need all the candy that she collected!  I was looking for options on what to do with the candy and discovered Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com).  This non-profit organization sends care packages to our troops.  They include candy, which our troops enjoy but they also pass it out to local children, spreading goodwill.  Every year since then, I have been sending Halloween candy to them.  I started telling my friends about it & sent theirs along with mine.  In 2011, I sent an email out to the Pacifica Mothers Club & a total of 75 lbs of candy showed up on my doorstep.  The response was so positive that in 2012, I looked for a dentist to sponsor the collection & pay for shipping so even more candy could be collected.  The first dentist that came to mind was Pacifica Coast Dental (www.johnacostadds.com) because they were local, members of the Pacifica Mothers Club & Dr. Acosta's father served in the US Army. 

Pacifica Coast Dental generously agreed to sponsor the candy collection and last year, we received a total of 110 lbs. in donations.  We were hoping to exceed that amount this year and we most certainly did.  Last Friday, Ann Acosta and I sorted, packed & shipped off 280 lbs. of candy!  This was a huge success and Pacific Coast Dental & I want to thank everyone who donated their candy.  We'll be doing it again next year!