Vandiver Hall hosts Safe Trick-or-Treat in efforts to create outreach in the community

Southeast Serves, Vandiver Hall and Gamma Sigma Sigma hosted a Safe Trick-or-Treat for children Monday, Oct. 28. The event was held in Vandiver Hall in hopes of intermingling students on campus with children in the neighborhood.

Resident assistants, along with eight other organizations on campus and 40 Vandiver residents, assisted in giving out candy among other activities including pumpkin painting, paper masks and more.

Amanda Carpenter, Vandiver Hall director, said the purpose of the event was to do outreach with the community and create community services with various organizations on campus.

Carpenter shared most of the children who came were students from the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters and children of staff or faculty on campus.

“Just giving back to them and allowing them to have another place for their kids to celebrate and trying our best at making this an annual program,” Carpenter said.

Each floor had a different activity in which children could participate. The National Society of Leadership and Success hosted pumpkin painting and the RA’s put together a haunted house.

Senior Megan Kirchoff is a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters and came with a student she mentors to participate in the activities.

Kirchoff heard about the event through a flyer sent to her by her relationship counselor at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Her goal for bringing her “little sister” with her to this event was to have fun, she said.

Kirchoff explained how she feels about the school’s effort to be more involved with the community.

“This is really cool that they are involving school with this program because I used to live in this dorm and don’t remember doing this, and it looks like they had a really good turnout,” Kirchoff said.

Carpenter explained it has been the third year the school has hosted the Safe Trick-or-Treat, but this was the first year hosting the event in Vandiver Hall. They hope to make this an annual event.

“We hope to make this an annual program. All the halls are trying to figure out an annual program to do and this is what we want to do,” Carpenter said.