Trick-or-treating is a beloved tradition for kids around the world. Dressing up and going house-to-house getting free candy is every child’s dream, and rain or shine, you’ll see little ghosts, witches, and superheroes roaming the neighboorhood streets on Halloween night.
With the recent hurricanes and other natural disasters throughout the world, trick-or-treating might not be an option for children in disaster-stricken areas.
One of the places heavily affected by Hurricane Michael was Panama City, Florida. The destruction there was devastating and many homes were destroyed or lost power. Latter-day Saints in the area were told to evacuate and had a hurricane plan in place.
Elder Douglas B. Carter, Area Seventy, told the Church News, “‘Panama City is an absolute disaster.’. . . Five member homes were destroyed, and at least 300 member homes were damaged, many significantly.” The amount of help and service received in cleanup efforts was incredible, and Elder Carter said “the support from Church headquarters and the North America Southeast Area Presidency ‘has been absolutely phenomenal.’”
As people have worked to offer disaster relief in the area, a group of youth from Eagle, Idaho, is helping in its own, unique way.
We typically hear of “spreading holiday cheer” during Christmastime, but a group of young women and scouts are bringing Halloween cheer to the kids living in disaster-stricken areas. They helped put together 500 bags of Halloween candy to send to children in Panama City who won’t have the opportunity to trick-or-treat this year.
The missionaries in the area jumped on board and are ready to help distribute the candy to disaster relief stations throughout Panama City.
