Old Rochester Regional High School’s Community Service Learning club (CSL) completed their Halloween costume drive last week. The drive was a success, collecting 44 costumes from the high school location alone. Each of the elementary schools in the ORR district were also collecting gently used costumes for infants to age 12.
All costumes will be sorted by student members of CSL and then distributed to kids within the school district who are in need. Any remaining costumes will be donated to Gifts to Give, a charity in New Bedford.
Mary Cabral, the advisor for CSL, explained why they chose to start the year with a costume drive. She said, “I actually had read an article in a newspaper that said the average amount of money that families spend on Halloween is about $70 … I know for a lot of people in this economy, it’s tough to come up with money to make Halloween a special event for their kids.”
Cabral continued, noting, “Kids only wear a costume maybe one time, two times? And then they pack it away, and it probably doesn’t get used again.”
Thus the idea for a costume drive began to form. Why not put these old costumes to good use?
“Two students created a flier, and that was hung up around the school,” Cabral explained, “It was also sent out to the elementary schools.”
With the word out, it was time to grab people’s attention.
“In our front lobby, we created a spooky display,” Cabral said. Student members of CSL hung a banner, Halloween lights, and costume decorations at ORR. This colorful presentation effectively encouraged students to donate their neglected Halloween costumes.
With one successful project completed, what’s next for CSL? Cabral said that the club will be developing a partnership with The Mattapoisett Land Trust.
“We’re going to meet with someone from the Land Trust, and we’re going to do that in conjunction not just with CSL, but also with the Environmental Club and AFS.”
CSL is also thinking ahead to their annual Toys for Tots drive, which will be taking place during the holiday season. “That’s a big, school-wide project,” Cabral said.
As CSL members make plans to spread their generous spirit, the students involved always stay true to CSL’s main goal. Cabral said this mission is “to identify problems locally, within our schools, nationally, and globally, and then to work toward solutions for those problems.”
By Renae Reints
