Fort Lee Elementary School #2 Gives Back for Halloween

This year, Fort Lee Elementary School #2 used the school's 2nd Annual Halloween “Trunk or Treat” as one of the many platforms to give back to those in need. This year, the school participated in ‘Operation Gratitude,’ a give-back program where students donate their candy to first responders, veterans and deployed troops.

The “Trunk or Treat” has been gaining popularity in the recent years as it provides a safe and fun trick-or-treating experience for kids of all ages. Parents and their kids decorate the back of their cars in creative, fun themes; the cars line up in a parking lot; and then families give out candy so that kids can "trick or treat" from car to car. It’s a chance for the adults to dress up too and socialize with one another while their kids remain in a safe environment.

President of School 2 PTO, Julene Stassou, says, “It all started during our first meeting of the year when we decided we wanted to give back more to our community. We appointed one of our student's moms, Catherine Kondradt, to be our ‘community liaison’ to spearhead these projects for us and determine what fundraisers make sense for the school to make the biggest impact.”

Students came out in droves to support this endeavor. Along with the Trunk or Treat outdoors, the school also put on an indoor portion of the evening - a dance in the auditorium with a DJ - which conveniently served a purpose when it starts to get chilly outside. The Fort Lee Police Department helped with logistics, including traffic control; many Fort Lee businesses donated goods; and students from Fort Lee High School volunteered to decorate, serve food & drink, help with the costume contest, and treated kids to face- and hand-painting - all making the the evening a true community event.

Stassou says the highlight of the night was when students who raised the most money in the school’s last fundraiser got to ‘slime‘ School #2 Principal John Brennan and Officer Vincent Buda outside on the field.

The School’s PTO hopes that this event, as well as the ongoing fundraisers School #2 will roll out year-long, will continue to be a great example to the students about giving back and being empathetic towards others.