New charity offers costumed fun for every kid
As a guidance counselor in the Palm Beach County school district, Chris McCarthy recalls how disappointed some of her students were when they did not have a costume or mask for the Halloween character parade.
Chris McCarthy is a retired guidance counselor who has started a non profit organization called Free Costumes for Kids to donate Halloween costumes and masks to needy kids this year. Photo Credit Sarah Dussault, Sun Sentinel
“Their parents, for whatever reason, couldn’t afford it or didn’t have the creativity to come up with one,” said McCarthy, who retired five years ago after 25 years at Addison Mizner, Plumosa and Crosspointe elementary schools. “We tried our best to let them not be left out [by making costumes] but it’s just not the same.”
Thanks to Free Costumes For Kids, more than 300 kids in Palm Beach County who would have to go without a costume, will be transformed into critters and monsters and ghosts and goblins on the year’s scariest night.
The organization McCarthy helped found earlier this year has been collecting an array of frightening and funny costumes and masks that will be available for picking a week before Halloween, McCarthy said.
The donations will be given to students who must be recommended by their teachers or those in the Delray Beach Parks and Recreation after-school program, organizers said.
Tonya Smith, supervisor of the city’s after-school program, said she was grateful for the donations and her kids were fired up.
“We’re having a holiday party on Friday and we’re bringing all the sites together at Pompey Park and we will have different events for them,” Smith said.
The idea was born after McCarthy’s sons, who own Gigaweb.com, a Halloween costume store, wanted to put their returned merchandise to good use.
“My kids grew up hearing about things that happened during the day ? and then they started thinking, ‘Wow, mom used to talk about the kids and the Halloween character parades and they didn’t have a costume,’ ” she said. “We [thought we] could start a charity and collect used costumes and maybe really make an impact. So we’ve been working on it since.”
Several schools are collecting costumes for the drive and students at Hidden Oaks Elementary, west of Lake Worth, held their character parade last week and have since donated their costumes, McCarthy said.
Yet the community response has been less than ideal.
While a handful of businesses in town are participating, several stores have turned the group down, said McCarthy, who is disappointed with the response but is determined to keep fighting for the kids.
The owner of Delux Nightclub & Lounge in Delray Beach helped out Saturday.
“He [threw] an adult Halloween costume bash where he is allowing everybody in and donating free drinks to everybody who walks in the door with a costume, used or new or makes a donation,” said Erin Greaves, a Delray Beach mother of three who volunteers with the project.
Other sponsors include Waste Management, G-Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Television and Plumosa Elementary.
Chris McCarthy pastes kids artwork on donation bins for a non profit organization, Free Costumes for Kids, she started that donates Halloween costumes and masks to needy kids. She will setup the donation boxes at about 12 locations, which includes schools, a church, Halloween stores and a night club. She has teamed up with Delray Parks and Recreation and Broward’s For Kids Sake to get the costumes to needy children Credit Sarah Dussault, Sun Sentinel / October 15, 2009
Organizers plan to serve Palm Beach County youths this year but hope the program will expand across South Florida next year and eventually statewide or even nationwide.
Costumes can also be mailed to Free Costumes For Kids, 6851 SW 21st Court, Bay 6, Davie, FL 33317.
“We’re also going to continue to collect after Halloween so that we will be very well prepared for next year,” McCarthy said.
For information, go to FreeCostumesForKids.org or contact McCarthy at 561-789-2421. C. Ron Allen can be reached at crallen@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6611.
