By Randee Schmitt

The FFA hosted the first Kandy 4 Kids on the evening of Oct. 31. In hopes of providing an alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating various organizations set up booths and games for children and their parents to enjoy.

“Kandy 4 Kids started with the FFA officers and each officer has a separate booth they’re paired up with. We decided we wanted to have a safe place for kids to get together, like a big family thing,” FFA president Colton Pouncy said. “We wanted a safe place and a more secure environment for kids to go instead of walking around neighborhoods, and we invited AVID, PALs, and different organizations from the school to join us.”

Aside from AVID Club and PALs, the Horticulture Club and Mavs Making a Difference also got invovled in this event. Furthermore, the FFA ran numerous booths and oversaw everything else.

“It’s the first year, and it’s not a bad turnout,” AMP teacher James Willson said. “I like the clubs working together creating the Maverick family atmosphere. We’re working toward a goal and this will be a step toward that goal.”

From a candy walk to a football toss to ladder golf, the FFA provided many fun-filled booths for children to participate in. The AVID Club painted faces and gave childern the supplies for pumpkin painting. In addition, the Horticulture Club allowed the kids to get a little dirty as they dug through dirt for hidden glow sticks.

“[Kandy 4 Kids] is more of a safe place for families and instead of going out in big groups parents get to have one on one time with their kids. It’s their chance to share a good connection and have some bonding time in a great environment,” Pouncy said.

Indeed, the first Kandy 4 Kids proved successful. Pleased with the turn out, Willson and other sponsors hope to continue and make this occur annually.

“I think people have enjoyed Kandy 4 Kids so we’ll probably end up doing this again next year and hopefully it’ll become a thing we do every year as a school community,” Pouncy said.