Tricks, Treats and Help For The Hungry

Alexandra Miller-Henson started S(care) to help local shelters. As a way to thank donors, she is gifting them a S(care) bag.

By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com

oky season is upon us and that means it’s almost time to dress up in costume and go trick-or-treating, but this year instead of just getting candy, kids and teens can donate to a good cause by getting involved with S(care).

The non-profit charity created by Walt Whitman sophomore Alexandra Miller-Henson encourages trick-or-treaters to collect items from their neighbors that will be donated to a local shelter. In its second year, Miller-Henson has been working to get the word out about her charity and bring it to more parts of Long Island.

“I was talking her about how I wish there was a way for me to trick-or-treat for a good reason, with an excuse to go trick-or-treating and we basically came up with the idea on the spot there,” Miller-Henson said.

Last year she focused primarily on getting people at her high school involved. Now she is ready to expand through friends and social media.

“I think it’s a fun twist on Halloween, y’know scaring for a cause, scaring for a care,” Miller-Henson said.

Last year, S(care) donated to the Family Service League, but is unsure which shelter she will donate to this year. The charity is asking for donations of toiletries, socks and feminine products.

“I was talking to a lady at the Family Service League and she said the least donated things are socks and feminine products,” Miller-Henson said. “When I see other people struggling, I want to help and I think it’s important that everyone has a little bit of that in their life.”

Miller-Henson has already collected some donations from family and friends, and is expecting a large wave of donations to come in after Halloween. Anyone can sign up on the website, scareforcharity.org, to round up donations on Halloween night. Directions have been assembled on how to have the most successful collection.

“We try to be as clear as possible with the rules,” Miller-Henson said. “We don’t want people trick-or-treating by themselves because that can be very dangerous. We told them what to look for and gave them some suggestions of what to say because we don’t want them to be scared or confused if it’s their first year doing it.”

People can drop off donations at Walt Whitman High School, Stage To Screen, Craftree and 110 Party Supply during their business hours.

“If everyone helps out a little bit, we’ll be in a better place than we are now,” Miller-Henson said.

Last year, S(care) donated over a thousand items to the shelter, and Miller-Henson hopes she will be able to amass even more with her large outreach.

“I can’t picture me not running it, because it’s made me look forward to Halloween even more than I already did,” Miller-Henson said. “Halloween has been my favorite holiday for forever so… I couldn’t imagine a Halloween without it.”donations.